• Multichannel News, Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:18 AM

DirecTV is suing cable giant Comcast over a national ad campaign claiming satellite customers think its HDTV picture quality is better than satellite's. The suit, filed in federal court in Chicago, charges Comcast with false advertising and deceptive trade practices for the print, radio and Internet effort that began early this month.

Further, it asks that Comcast be barred from "any further false advertising and promotion," that it retract and correct its claims -- and pay damages. Comcast's claim is based on a survey it commissioned that found "two-thirds of satellite customers expressing a preference between Comcast and DirecTV and between Comcast and Dish Network and said Comcast delivered a better HD image."

Direct TV isn't buying it: "The ... survey upon which Comcast relies does not provide or sufficiently substantiate the propositions for which Comcast cites the survey," the suit says. "Comcast's advertising and promotional claims, including the aforementioned, are literally false." Comcast is aware of the complaint, but a spokesperson says "we stand behind the results of our survey."

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