DirecTV sues Comcast for false advertising

El Segundo (CA) - Following heated comments made by DirecTV’s CEO, the satcaster is now suing Comcast for what it says is misrepresentation in an ad where Comcast claims it has superior picture quality.

It’s become the new multi-faceted legal story, as the battle between satellite and cable rages through the HDTV transition period. Time Warner recently launched a couple of attacks against DirecTV for its satellite vs. cable ads, and now DirecTV is on the offensive.

Comcast’s most recent ad references a March 2007 survey from Frank N. Magid Associates, and says the results showed Comcast was preferred over DirecTV with regard to picture quality.

TV Predictions quotes Multichannel News as saying DirecTV’s lawsuit alleges "the Magid survey upon which Comcast relies does not provide or sufficiently substantiate the propositions for which Comcast cites the survey. Comcast’s advertising and promotional claims, including the aforementioned, are literally false."

In the Time Warner battle, DirecTV was ordered to cease airing commercials that claimed the satellite picture quality was better than cable. The judge said there was no evidence to prove that either one was technically superior to the other.

DirecTV first slammed the ad during an analyst conference call. It is seeking monetary damages and an order for Comcast to make retracting statements.