The National Association of African-American Owned Media and Entertainment Studios, a media company owned by comedian and entrepreneur Byron Allen, has filed a $20 billion discrimination suit against Comcast and civil rights figure Rev. Al Sharpton, claiming they have blocked the growth of 100% black-owned cable channels.
In a suit filed in U.S. District Court in California on Feb. 20, the NAAAOM claims that Comcast has refused to do business with 100% African-American-owned businesses, alleging that the media giant spends about $25 billion annually to license pay TV channels and on advertising, yet 100% African-American owned media receive less than $3 million per year.
The suit is similar to one the NAAAOM brought against AT&T in December. Like Comcast, which is in the middle of federal approvals for its planned merger with Time Warner Cable – AT&T is in the process of acquiring satellite giant DirecTV.
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