Cable TV firms lose court ruling on exclusivity

Cable TV providers cannot have exclusive rights to provide service in apartment buildings that they wire, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The decision by the Court of Appeals in Washington upholds a Federal Communications Commission ruling that banned the exclusive agreements as anti-competitive.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. and a pair of affiliated real estate groups sued, saying the FCC did not justify the change in policy or have the authority to regulate the deals. But the appeals court said the FCC acted well within the bounds of the law.

A spokesman for the cable association had no immediate comment on the ruling.