Fuse Media Alleges AT&T Contract Breach in Bankruptcy Court Complaint

Fuse Media's carriage complaint with the FCC against AT&T (see 2012140052) is expanding to U.S. Bankruptcy Court. In a complaint Tuesday (docket 20-51049, in Pacer) with the court in Wilmington, Delaware, Fuse accused AT&T and its DirecTV of breach of contract and tortious interference with contracts. It said its AT&T contracts are its most valuable assets and vital to its success beyond its 2019 bankruptcy reorganization. The heavily redacted complaint said AT&T and a third-party programmer swapped confidential Fuse information, costing Fuse in contract negotiations. Fuse asked for unspecified damages. AT&T emailed Wednesday that it "treat[s] all programmers fairly, including Fuse. This meritless lawsuit is nothing more than a last-ditch attempt by Fuse’s creditors to force us and our customers to pay for channels our customers don’t want or value.”