CSN Houston placed under bankruptcy protection

The parent company of financially-troubled Comcast SportsNet Houston, the exclusive local media-rights holder of Houston Rockets NBA basketball and Houston Astros MLB baseball games, has been placed under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Houston Chronicle newspaper said that the move would keep the regional sports channel on the air, for the time being at least.

US Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur’s order came after attorneys for media and technology corporation Comcast and the Rockets asked that the case remain under bankruptcy court jurisdiction, while the Astros requested its dismissal.

CSN Houston’s ownership structure currently consists of a 46.5 per cent stake held by the Astros, 31 per cent for the Rockets and 22.5 per cent for Comcast under the Houston Regional Sports Network organisation. However, it has struggled as its reach has been limited by an ongoing dispute the broadcaster has been engaged in with local cable and satellite television providers over the fee it should receive per subscriber.

Four Comcast affiliates last year made a bankruptcy filing in an effort to prevent the Astros from retaking their broadcast rights after they were not paid for several months. The Astros’ request for the case to be removed from bankruptcy court jurisdiction would have almost certainly resulted in CSN Houston’s demise, according to the Chronicle.

The channel’s three partners will now work on a reorganisation plan and Isgur said that Comcast, which is the Houston area's major cable carrier, could be left out of the new partnership agreement. Comcast, however, has said it wants to secure complete control of the network and restructure the management of the platform in a bid to reach carriage deals.