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Bloomberg eyes FCC complaint against Comcast

Bloomberg L.P., the New York financial-information and news giant, has threatened to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission that would force Comcast Corp. to relocate Bloomberg TV to an area on the cable-channel lineup with other news channels.

Bloomberg L.P., the New York financial-information and news giant, has threatened to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission that would force Comcast Corp. to relocate Bloomberg TV to an area on the cable-channel lineup with other news channels.

Bloomberg says this "neighborhooding" provision is in the 280- page FCC order in January that allowed Comcast to acquire control of NBC Universal Inc. Comcast is ignoring the provision, Bloomberg contends.

Neighborhooding refers to grouping together similar channels, such as CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and MSNBC. Bloomberg says its business channel, Bloomberg TV, should be part of a news-channel grouping.

Separating Bloomberg TV from other news channels puts it at a competitive disadvantage to Comcast-controlled CNBC, the dominant business news channel, Bloomberg officials have said.

For Center City Comcast viewers, CNBC is Channel 47 and Bloomberg TV is Channel 103.

"The FCC wisely placed conditions on the merger in order to protect the public," Peter T. Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg, said in a statement. "If Comcast continues to thumb its nose at the FCC's order, Bloomberg will take its case to the commission."

Comcast said Friday that it did not believe it was required to "neighborhood" channels, as Bloomberg asserts.

"Comcast does not 'neighborhood' news channels in the way Bloomberg seeks to be repositioned," the company said. "Further, Comcast has not repositioned any channels to favor CNBC or any other affiliated news channel."

Doing what Bloomberg has requested would be "anticonsumer" because it would lead to "massive channel realignments across the country," Comcast said.