Nexstar Media Inc. v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC

Background

Nexstar Media Inc. is the plaintiff and counterclaim defendant. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC is the defendant, counterclaim plaintiff, and third-party plaintiff. Nexstar’s filing concerned materials submitted in connection with Nexstar’s motion to dismiss Comcast’s counterclaim and Comcast’s motion. The materials included a retransmission-consent agreement between Nexstar and Comcast, related correspondence, and information that had previously been sealed.

Sealing requests

Nexstar asked for permission to file some material under permanent seal. It said the agreement contained commercially sensitive pricing rates and other terms, and that disclosure could harm the parties’ competitive positions and future negotiations. The permanent-sealing request covered references to the agreement and related communications, as well as the agreement and an April 8, 2021 letter attached as exhibits.

Nexstar separately sought temporary sealing for information that had previously been sealed at the request of Mission Broadcasting, Inc. Nexstar stated that Mission planned to file a motion to dismiss Comcast’s third-party complaint and intended to seek confidential treatment for information appearing in that motion. Nexstar said it would redact that information temporarily unless the relevant party filed its own sealing request within three days. The filing stated that Comcast and Mission did not oppose Nexstar’s letter-motion.

Ruling

The filing bears an “APPLICATION GRANTED” notation. The court granted Nexstar’s application to file the identified materials under permanent and temporary seal. The text provided does not include a separate written explanation or a more detailed description of the court’s ruling. Judge John G. Koeltl issued the ruling.