Judge rules DirecTV must cut CBS, Fox

2 million subscribers to lose programming

By CHRISTOPHER STERN

WASHINGTON -- More than 700,000 DBS subscribers will wake up Monday morning to find that CBS and Fox have gone dark, now that a federal judge in Miami has blocked DirecTV's attempt to sidestep a Feb. 28 deadline for terminating the signals.

Broadcasters argued Thursday in a hearing before Judge Lenore Nesbitt that DirecTV was trying to evade Nesbitt's earlier decision which found PrimeTime 24 had illegally signed up subscribers for satellite-delivered Fox and CBS network programming. DirecTV responded by severing its ties with PrimeTime 24 and offering the network programming directly to subscribers.

But Nesbitt agreed with broadcasters Thursday and issued a temporary restraining order against DirecTV that prevents the satcaster from providing the signals to subscribers. An additional 1.3 million subscribers are scheduled to lose their Fox and CBS programming on April 30.

Nesbitt's order blocks DirecTV from offering the signals until at least March 8, when she will hold a hearing to decide if order should be permanent.

In response to a lawsuit filed by Fox and CBS, Nesbitt issued a ruling last June that found PrimeTime 24 had broken the law by selling network programming from other markets to subscribers who could get the same programming from their local stations. ABC and NBC affiliate orgs have filed similar cases in Texas and North Carolina, but the joint Fox and CBS case is the furthest along.

DirecTV said Thursday that it would comply with the court order. "Although we are very disappointed with the court's decision, because it will disenfranchise consumers who rely on distant network signals delivered by satellite to receive their network programming, we will comply with its order," said a statement released by DirecTV. "Today's court order creates a greater urgency for congressional intervention," added DirecTV.