The Pot Calls The Kettle Black

Regarding "Astros, Rockets sue over network losses" (Friday Sports C4), given the huge losses of the now-defunct CSN (Comcast Sports Network) it was inevitable that somebody would be suing somebody.

 

What is confusing is why the Astros and Rockets think that their partner Comcast is to blame.  Recall the original plan promoted by all of the partners: Rather than offering their broadcasts as a package that cable consumers would be free to subscribe to, CSN would have bundled the package for all Comcast customers and forced competitors like AT&T to pay a mandatory subscription fee to Comcast as high as $3.40 per household per month.  CSN even enlisted Mayor Anise Parker to strong-arm Comcast's competitors.

 

With 2.2 million television households in the Greater Houston area, this corporate welfare scheme would have grossed CSN tens of millions every year, most of it picked from the pockets of the 95% of television households that could care less about watching Astros and Rockets games on television.  Public opinion was overwhelmingly against this scheme, it died, and CSN collapsed.

 

Bottom line, the Astros and the Rockets are not victims, but willing participants in a scheme that treated the public like a cow to be milked for their profit.  If they want to see the culprits in this deal, they should look in the mirror.

 

Pete Smith

Houston, TX