GMA Network to pursue case against ABS-CBN and its cable firm affiliates

GMA Broadcasting Corp. said yesterday it will pursue its case against archrival ABS-CBN as well as three of the country’s biggest cable television companies despite the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s dismissal of its complaint.

GMA-7 sued ABS-CBN and cable TV companies Central CATV, Inc. (Sky Cable), HomeCable, Inc. and Pilipino Cable with the QC RTC , alleging for unfair competition and/or unfair trade practices through their corporate combinations, devices and machinations.

GMA counsel, Gener E. Asuncion said that the dismissal was not on the merits of the case nor did the QC RTC conclude that the respondents did not commit illegal rechanneling and distortion of broadcast signal.

Asuncion said the court even qualified that the dismissal was "without prejudice" which means the case can be brought back to court. He noted that Sky Cable had earlier been found by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to have committed unauthorized re-channeling of GMA-7 cable TV position and ordered to return the channel to its original position while the case of signal distortion is being heard.

The QC RTC ruled that the NTC has primary jurisdiction over the case because of the prior pending case filed by GMA-7 against ABS-CBN, Central CATV, Inc., Home Cable, Inc. and Pilipino Cable for signal distortion and unauthorized rechanneling.

This was questioned by Asuncion who asked why the NTC should have primary jurisdiction when it has no jurisdiction at the first instance on civil suits for damages". "GMA-7 did not claim for damages before the NTC. The complaint which GMA 7 filed with the court is purely a civil action for damages arising from the alleged conspiratorial acts of unfair competition and/or unfair trade practices of ABS-CBN and the cable TV companies which have common owners and interlocking businesses.

He further disputed the court’s ruling that GMA-7 has no cause of action against ABS-CBN since the former is seeking redress against the cable TV companies for re-channeling its cable transmission and signal interference.

According to Asuncion, the court glossed over the basic cause of action of corporate combinations, machinations and devices of ABS-CBN and the cable TV companies in conspiracy by which they committed unfair competition and/or unfair trade practices.

He emphasized that re-channeling and signal interference are but a few of the illustrative acts of conspiracy between ABS-CBN and the cable TV companies. Central CATV, Inc. or Sky Cable is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sky Vision which is owned by Lopez, Inc., the controlling owner of ABS-CBN. Sky Vision now directly owns the majority shares in Sky Cable and in Pilipino Cable. Sky Cable controls the Metro Manila operations while Pilipino Cable using the trade name "Sun Cable" controls the regional and provincial operations.

On the one hand, Sky Vision controls the business operations of Home Cable under a master consolidation Agreement signed by the Lopez group and PLDT group. As a result, Sky Cable, Home Cable and Pilipino Cable along with ABS-CBN now control 71 percent of the total television market in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. By reason of their corporate combinations, machinations and interlocking ownership, the cable companies control and dictate the signal transmission, channel position and the telecast of free TV of non-cable companies like GMA-7, the latter added.

It also noted that in the pursuit of their corporate combinations, the cable TV companies give first and preferential telecast to their affiliate non-cable TV ABS-CBN.

In its complaint. GMA pointed out that the cable TV companies likewise deliberately failed to transmit the signal of GMA-7 resulting in distortion, degradations and disorder of GMA-7 shows on the cable TV channel. This adversely affected the viewership, quality of the programs, and ratings of GMA-7 for which it received numerous complaints from viewers and advertisers.