QVC Presses Paramount Talks : Merger: It continues negotiations with antitrust regulators on TCI’s participation, as that company is criticized for its hiring practices.

Cable television giant Tele-Communications Inc. came under fresh attack Tuesday for its marketplace clout and hiring practices, as QVC Network Inc. continued negotiations with antitrust regulators to determine whether TCI can participate in the shopping network’s bid for Paramount Communications Inc.

TCI and QVC were sued by Viacom Inc. on antitrust grounds in September, shortly after QVC announced its challenge to a friendly merger agreement between Viacom and Paramount, with the backing of TCI and Comcast Corp. On Tuesday, Viacom updated its lawsuit with fresh allegations and added Comcast as a defendant.

Viacom also alleged that Advance Publications and Cox Enterprises, two other QVC backers, are co-conspirators. Viacom contends that anti-competitive behavior by QVC and others forced it to raise its Paramount bid by $2 billion. If it wins Paramount and prevails in court, Viacom presumably will ask for triple damages, or $6 billion.

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In a separate action, TCI was accused Tuesday of being “the worst discriminator in the telecommunications industry” by the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and the League of United Latin American citizens. The two groups have filed a petition with the Federal Communication Commission to deny QVC’s bid for Paramount because of the alleged misconduct of TCI, its partner.

Benjamin L. Hooks, who stepped down as the NAACP’s executive director in April, is in his second year as a Paramount director.

Viacom increased its bid to $85 per share over the weekend to press its advantage while QVC sorts out its investor group.

The Viacom action boosted Paramount’s shares to an all-time high Monday, but on Tuesday Paramount lost $1.125 to close at $81 on the New York Stock Exchange. Viacom Class A slipped 37.5 cents to $56.50, wile Viacom Class B was unchanged at $48.50. QVC shares fell 87.5 cents to close at $52.

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Meanwhile, QVC Chairman Barry Diller told a broadcast industry group in Washington that talks are still under way with BellSouth Corp. to invest in QVC. Diller said he expects regulatory issues involving Liberty Media Corp., a TCI affiliate that owns 22% of QVC and has pledged an additional $500 million for the Paramount bid, to be resolved within 24 to 48 hours.

Stephen Ross, an antitrust law professor at the University of Illinois who used to work at the FTC and the Justice Department, said the FTC is less inclined than in past years toward the kind of traditional free-market arguments that would protect a Liberty-QVC alliance.

“On the antitrust spectrum, the FTC is more likely than others in the antitrust field to be skeptical that the market will solve the problems caused by the merger,” Ross said. “One of the real issues with emerging technologies is . . . how consumers in the two- to five-year period are going to be affected by a merger.”