Comcast must carry Tennis Channel in 18 million expanded basic cable homes within 45 days, the FCC ruled 4-3 Wednesday, resolving a program access complaint that the independent network filed in 2009.

It's a huge score for Tennis Channel, which counts just 34 million subscribers. Tennis had complained that Comcast was discriminating against the network, and favoring sports networks that it owns such as Golf Channel and NBC Sports Network, the network formerly known as Versus.  

"We conclude that Tennis Channel has demonstrated that Comcast discriminated against Tennis Channel and in favor of Golf Channel and Versus on the basis of affiliation, and that this discrimination unreasonably restrained Tennis Channel's ability to compete," the FCC wrote in the decision, which upholds a ruling issued last year by an FCC administrative law judge.

Executives at Comcast and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said they were disappointed in the decision, which they said will increase programming costs for cable subscriptions. Comcast, which had carried Tennis Channel on a premium sports tier, had argued that forcing it to carry the network in a broader tier would be a violation of the First Amendment.

"Forcing a cable operator not only to carry a particular program network but to include it in a particular tier or package of channels directly interferes with the operator's Constitutionally protected right to select and package programming in the manner that, in its editorial discretion, best meets the interests and demands of its customers," NCTA said in a statement released Wednesday.