Television entrepreneur Byron Allen has filed a $20-billion racial discrimination lawsuit against cable giants Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable. Allen, who is African-American, owns the Los Angeles television production and distribution company Entertainment Studios, which includes such digital channels as Justice Central, Cars.TV and Comedy.TV.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, contends that Allen's company has been thwarted in his attempts to secure distribution for its small networks on cable systems owned by Comcast and Time Warner Cable. The suit contends that while Comcast distributes for several channels that include minorities as part owners, the Philadelphia cable giant has not embraced Allen's company, which is 100% minority owned.