Reuters: Regulatory News: Viacom CEO calls Cablevision lawsuit "frivolous"

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Viacom CEO calls Cablevision lawsuit "frivolous" Mar 4th 2013, 18:59 By Liana B. Baker March 4 | Mon Mar 4, 2013 1:59pm EST March 4 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc's Chief Executive Philippe Dauman criticized Cablevision Corp on Monday for filing an "ill-advised and frivolous" antitrust lawsuit against the media company, in a dispute he said would just turn into a waste of legal fees. Dauman's first public remarks about the lawsuit come a week after Cablevision accused Viacom Inc of illegally forcing it to pay for more than a dozen low-rated cable networks in order to get access to Viacom's more popular channels such as Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.. "The lawsuit that Cablevision filed is ill-advised and frivolous," Dauman said, speaking at a Deutsche Bank investor conference in Florida. "The bottom line is that the lawyers will get rich on this," adding that Cablevision's money would be better spent providing its subscribers with better customer service. Cablevision did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Dauman's remarks. Last Thursday, Cablevision's CEO James Dolan said that Viacom abused its market power, violated federal antitrust laws and "needs to be stopped." The case represents the latest flare-up in the contentious relationships between distributors and program makers. Industry observers will be watching to see if the antitrust lawsuit will disrupt the model of selling bundles of cable channels to operators, a common practice employed by Viacom and its media company peers in the $97.6 billion cable industry. Dauman, who was a corporate attorney before he became a media executive, added that 11 of Viacom's networks, including two that Cablevision called ancillary in its lawsuit, Nick Jr and Teen Nick, draw higher ratings than MSG, a channel owned by the Dolans, the family that controls Cablevision. Dauman said that Viacom gave Cablevision concessions and a discount when the two parties negotiated their last carriage deal, which was signed last December. Dauman noted that Cablevision is carrying the same network as it did in their last agreement. The case is Cablevision Systems Corporation, et al., v. Viacom International Inc, et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 13-1278. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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