Morgan & Morgan, PA is planning to file an injunction against News Corporation’s FOX in an effort to ensure that the 2010 Sugar Bowl will be televised as scheduled. As a result of ongoing negotiations between FOX and Time Warner Cable’s Bright House Networks, FOX is threatening to deprive as many as one million Florida residents of the opportunity to watch the University of Florida Gators play in this game.
The Gators will take on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl, which is scheduled to occur on January 1, 2010 at 8:30 PM EST. It will be senior quarterback and fan favorite Tim Tebow’s last game for the Gators, adding to the importance of the matchup for Florida fans. FOX Broadcasting holds the exclusive television broadcast rights to the game. However, FOX is threatening to cut off Bright House Networks, LLC retransmission of its broadcast television signals at midnight on December 31, 2009, unless a new agreement is reached. If this occurs, all individuals who pay for cable service provided by Bright House Networks will be unable to watch the Sugar Bowl.
It has been reported that FOX is using its exclusive broadcast rights to the Sugar Bowl as a leveraging point in negotiations with Bright House Networks. According to the injunction filed by Morgan & Morgan, this behavior violates FOX’s statutory duty as a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensee to broadcast in the public interest. The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan believe that FOX should not be permitted to impose this arbitrary deadline, which will unfairly affect Florida residents who are interested in the watching the game.
Morgan & Morgan is planning to file the injunction tomorrow morning (December 30), unless FOX backs down before then. If the injunction is filed, it will be up to a judge to determine whether FOX can be prohibited from pulling the plug on Bright House Network’s ability to broadcast the Sugar Bowl. For more information about the Gator Nation Injunction, visit http://www.forthepeople.com/gator_nation_injunction.htm.
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