In a major breakthrough for cable television, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) today announced that it has purchased the Golf II Channel from Comcast/NBC and will immediately convert it to The Antitrust Channel, airing antitrust news and events 24/7.   AAI President Albert A. Foer refused to disclose the amount the AAI paid for the Golf Channel. He promised that The Antitrust Channel will not dismiss any reasonably plausible antitrust views, although this would exclude those of the Chicago School.   Foer reported that content development is well underway and provided examples of the kind of programming that will be aired on the new channel:

• Steve Balmer’s Microsoft as Trustbuster Moment, in which the Microsoft chief offers his nightly comments about why Google should be prosecuted under the antitrust laws. Special guest Rick Rule will assist with the theoretical explanations in plain English.
• The China Anti-Monopoly Watch, focusing initially on whether Google can escape before China can break it up. Special guest Rick Rule will assist with the theoretical explanations in plain English.
• Great Biographies in Trust-busting to include hour-long programs on William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Thurman Arnold, and Charles James (five minutes).
• Live red-carpet coverage of the annual Casto Geer FTC alumni party, with commentary and celebrity interviews sung by Pamela Jones Harbour.
• Open auctions for Antitrust Memorabilia, including Louis Brandeis briefs and T-shirts, Hew Pate-autographed Chevron gas cards, and genuine alderwood from the Weyerhauser case with engraved signatures of Justices Scalia and Thomas. Overbidding is encouraged for these items. In accordance with AAI views of Leegin, suggested retail prices will not be enforced.
• Movie Night, introduced by cinema expert Jonathan Leibowitz, featuring antitrust-based blockbusters such as Antitrust, The Informant, and Fair Fight in the Marketplace. The latter, an AAI production, will be repeated nightly during prime time.
• Drew Brees as host of Sports Central, a one-hour daily show featuring highlights from the day’s top sports-antitrust events, interviews with athletes explaining the intricacies of Copperweld and other common Sherman Act issues, and NFL owners as special guests to defend their proposed exemption from all federal laws.
• Too Big to Fail, a mini-series exploring the role of bank consolidation in the financial crisis, with special guests Alan Greenspan and Richard Posner explaining why government regulation may be necessary after all.

In a move clearly aimed at expanding the public’s interest in the new channel, the AAI invites viewers to send additional ideas to aai@antitrustinstitute.org. Look for The Antitrust Channel on the cable monopoly in your area. If it is not being offered, call the FCC to complain and send a copy of your complaint to the AAI.   ### About the American Antitrust Institute The American Antitrust Institute is an independent non-profit education, research and advocacy organization. Since its formation in 1998, the AAI’s mission has been to increase the role of competition, assure that competition works in the interests of consumers, and challenge abuses of concentrated economic power in the American and world economy. To learn more about the AAI, please visit www.antitrustinstitute.org.   Because previous April 1 columns have been reported verbatim by the media as news, our attorneys have advised us that these columns should be accompanied by a disclaimer. We have rejected this advice.

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