Comcast

A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Comcast Corp. in a class-action lawsuit involving Philadelphia cable-TV customers who claimed they'd been harmed by the company's anti-competitive business practices. The decision overturned a decision by the Philadelphia federal courts to certify about two million Comcast cable-TV customers as a class to sue the cable company for $875 million in damages. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion. He was joined by Justices John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision released Wednesday, voted 5-4 along ideological lines in favor of Comcast Corp. in a consumer class-action lawsuit that has been grinding its way through the Philadelphia federal courts since December 2003. The suit claims to represent two million Philadelphia-area Comcast TV customers who it says were harmed by anticompetitive business practices, and seeks $875 million in damages. The courts in Philadelphia certified the consumers as a class to collectively sue, but the Supreme Court overturned their rulings.

COMCAST'S "watchathon" week couldn't have come at a better time for those who'd like to catch up with HBO's "Game of Thrones" before Sunday's season premiere. Legally, that is. The first two seasons of the show - the most pirated of 2012, according to TorrentFreak.com, which reported that there were about 4.3 million downloads - are available to the cable company's customers until Sunday (along with a lot of other premium-cable content), whether or not they subscribe to HBO. Look for the show through On Demand under "watchathon" or at Xfinity.com or on the Xfinity Player apps (both of which require a login and password to prove you're a customer)

Local gun shops in the Comcast Corp. cable-TV territory, which extends over an area of 50 million U.S. homes, won't have the option of advertising on Comcast after this month. Comcast, the nation's largest cable system and a media conglomerate, says it banned gun and weapons advertisements to align its advertising policies with those at NBCUniversal, the news and entertainment company it acquired control of in early 2011. Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice said the White House did not request that the company stop advertising firearms.

Comcast Corp. chief executive Brian Roberts, speaking at the Economic Club of Washington on Thursday, said he believes that TV evolved more in the last five years than it did in the prior 50 years. He also said the number of Comcast Internet customers should exceed the number of Comcast TV customers over the next couple years. Comcast currently serves about 20 million Internet subscribers and 22 million TV customers.

Flag down on coed gridiron play Sometimes the old ways had meaning that, sadly, is being lost in our increasingly genderless world ("On further review, girl can play," March 15). We used to teach boys to honor the strengths and protect the inherent differences in girls. We raised men who shielded their wives and daughters from the particular harm that can come to a woman because of her physical and emotional differences - not because she was weak, but because she was differently made and wired.

In the Region   Comcast completes NBC deal   It's final. Comcast Corp. closed on its $16.7-billion purchase of the 49 percent of NBCUniversal it didn't already own. The cable giant announced the deal in February and it did not need federal government approvals, which had been obtained when Comcast purchased the first 51 percent of NBCUniversal in early 2011. "We are excited the transaction has closed and look forward to taking full advantage of the opportunities for growth and innovation at our combined company," Comcast said.

It's final. Comcast Corp. closed Tuesday on its $16.7-billion purchase of the 49 percent of NBCUniversal it didn't already own. The cable giant announced the deal in February and it did not need federal government approvals, which had been obtained when Comcast purchased the first 51 percent of NBCUniversal in early 2011. "We are excited the transaction has closed and look forward to taking full advantage of the opportunities for growth and innovation at our combined company," Comcast said.

Five years ago, Comcast Corp. was the nation's 50th-largest advertiser. Comcast, now with movie, news, and entertainment giant NBCUniversal under its corporate umbrella, rose to second-largest last year behind Procter & Gamble. The New York research firm Kantar Media says Comcast uncorked $1.7 billion in ads on consumers in 2012. Procter & Gamble, whose brands include Tampax, Pantene, Pampers, and Duracell, spent $2.8 billion. No. 3 was General Motors with $1.6 billion. Kantar tracks advertising on multiple platforms - radio, TV, billboards, the Internet, magazines, and newspapers - and then estimates the cost.

Ready, set (as in TV set), binge! If you're the kind of person (and many of us are) who's tempted to do marathon viewing of a favorite show, you might want to rethink your plans for the last week of this month. As long as you're an Xfinity TV customer. Starting March 25, Comcast's Watchathon Week will offer FREE "access to over 3,500 episodes of 100 TV series across 25 premium, cable and broadcast networks," according to a news release. Included: -- "Almost the entire TV libraries of HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax," including The Sopranos, Sex & the City and The Wire , according to spokeswoman Jennifer Bilotta.