LOS ANGELES (November 1, 2011) – The Parents Television Council® praised the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for withdrawing its June 3 ruling which dismissed a class action antitrust lawsuit (Brantley v. NBC Universal) against the cable industry for requiring consumers to pay for bundles of programming.

“We are pleased with yesterday’s announcement from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that its June 3 ruling against cable subscribers has been withdrawn. We look forward to the Court once again hearing this watershed case and are thankful that our call for a rehearing has been rendered moot,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

“Consumers, not the cable industry, should decide which networks they purchase every month. The current system that forces consumers to pay for dozens of unwanted networks is patently unfair and, we believe, constitutes illegal product bundling. 

“In recent days, we witnessed the latest display of what’s wrong with the cable model when DirecTV and Fox engaged in a bitter and very public carriage dispute. Sadly, with the resolution of their dispute, consumers lost yet again and are unable to determine for themselves which cable networks they will be purchasing. We urge the Ninth Circuit Court to move swiftly to rehear this case and put an end to the anti-consumer cable bundling con,” said PTC President Tim Winter.