Post by dkennedy on Mar 8, 2005 6:27:57 GMT -5
Knicks, Mets Games Could Be Dropped from NY Cable
Tue Mar 8, 2005 12:30 AM ET
By Kenneth Li NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Knicks basketball, Mets baseball and other sports programming could be dropped from Time Warner Cable's New York area cable systems on Tuesday at 00:00 EDT, falling victim to a bitter carriage dispute with sports channel owners, Cablevision Systems Corp.
Barring another 11th-hour extension, two of which have been previously brokered by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Cablevision-owned MSG Networks, Fox Sports Net and other channels will go black on the screens of some 1.4 million New York area customers served by Time Warner Inc.'s cable systems.
MSG Networks said late on Monday that Time Warner Cable has refused to settle the bickering through an independent arbitrator.
One source close to the talks said Time Warner made an offer to settle the issue with a mediator, which is non-binding, on Friday, but was rebuffed.
"Time Warner Cable has declined our offer to keep games on while we bring the dispute to an independent arbitrator," according to a MSG Networks prepared statement. "Instead, Time Warner Cable has pulled the plug on MSG Network and FSN New York. We are still prepared to live by the decision of an arbitrator and call on Time Warner Cable to agree with us to binding-arbitration and give the fans back their games."
MSG Networks and FSN New York were still available after the statements were issued.
"Cablevision refused our offer for continued carriage, while we worked to bridge the gap in our proposal," Time Warner fired back in a statement. "Binding arbitration has proven to be the fuel contributing to the skyrocketing cost of professional sports."
The dispute centers around how much to pay Cablevision, which separately operates its own cable television service in the New York area.
"Time Warner Cable continues to want to bring these sports events to our customers and is willing to continue to pay Cablevision for the right to carry these games going forward under the existing terms," a Time Warner cable spokesman said.
Time Warner has pledged to give customers a $2 per month credit and plans to replace the missing networks with NBA TV and CSTV, a college sports network at no charge.
Such disputes underscores the often contentious battles between cable operators and programmers over the cost of sports programming, which makes up a large portion of programming costs for cable companies and is often blamed for the rising cable rates charged to customers.
Cablevision has been no stranger to such fights, including one with the YES Network that kept New York Yankees baseball off the air for its 3 million New York area customers for much of the 2002 season.
The company was widely viewed to have lost out in the YES disagreement after submitting to a binding arbitration that eventually forced the cable operator to offer YES to more of its television subscribers.
Cablevision is expected to lose the rights to broadcast Mets games, after Sterling Entertainment Enterprises LLC, the company that owns the Mets, struck a deal with Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable to create a new regional sports network by 2006.
Last October, Cablevision sued the Mets, claiming the agreement to launch a new network with the partners breached its current contract.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Tue Mar 8, 2005 12:30 AM ET
By Kenneth Li NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Knicks basketball, Mets baseball and other sports programming could be dropped from Time Warner Cable's New York area cable systems on Tuesday at 00:00 EDT, falling victim to a bitter carriage dispute with sports channel owners, Cablevision Systems Corp.
Barring another 11th-hour extension, two of which have been previously brokered by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Cablevision-owned MSG Networks, Fox Sports Net and other channels will go black on the screens of some 1.4 million New York area customers served by Time Warner Inc.'s cable systems.
MSG Networks said late on Monday that Time Warner Cable has refused to settle the bickering through an independent arbitrator.
One source close to the talks said Time Warner made an offer to settle the issue with a mediator, which is non-binding, on Friday, but was rebuffed.
"Time Warner Cable has declined our offer to keep games on while we bring the dispute to an independent arbitrator," according to a MSG Networks prepared statement. "Instead, Time Warner Cable has pulled the plug on MSG Network and FSN New York. We are still prepared to live by the decision of an arbitrator and call on Time Warner Cable to agree with us to binding-arbitration and give the fans back their games."
MSG Networks and FSN New York were still available after the statements were issued.
"Cablevision refused our offer for continued carriage, while we worked to bridge the gap in our proposal," Time Warner fired back in a statement. "Binding arbitration has proven to be the fuel contributing to the skyrocketing cost of professional sports."
The dispute centers around how much to pay Cablevision, which separately operates its own cable television service in the New York area.
"Time Warner Cable continues to want to bring these sports events to our customers and is willing to continue to pay Cablevision for the right to carry these games going forward under the existing terms," a Time Warner cable spokesman said.
Time Warner has pledged to give customers a $2 per month credit and plans to replace the missing networks with NBA TV and CSTV, a college sports network at no charge.
Such disputes underscores the often contentious battles between cable operators and programmers over the cost of sports programming, which makes up a large portion of programming costs for cable companies and is often blamed for the rising cable rates charged to customers.
Cablevision has been no stranger to such fights, including one with the YES Network that kept New York Yankees baseball off the air for its 3 million New York area customers for much of the 2002 season.
The company was widely viewed to have lost out in the YES disagreement after submitting to a binding arbitration that eventually forced the cable operator to offer YES to more of its television subscribers.
Cablevision is expected to lose the rights to broadcast Mets games, after Sterling Entertainment Enterprises LLC, the company that owns the Mets, struck a deal with Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable to create a new regional sports network by 2006.
Last October, Cablevision sued the Mets, claiming the agreement to launch a new network with the partners breached its current contract.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.