It's Official : MSG, FoxSports NY off Time Warner

[dkennedy]

Mets, Knicks off Time Warner

Games yanked for 2.4 million subscribers

BY BOB RAISSMAN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER


Cameras roll, but Time Warner subscribers may have a long wait to see any games on MSG.

Choosing to point fingers and assign blame, Time Warner and Cablevision executives let the clock run out, leaving Knicks and Mets fans in the dark.
Unable to reach agreement on a new contract, the Cablevision-owned MSG Networks (Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports New York) were pulled off Time Warner Cable, which services 2.4 million area subscribers, early this morning.

Both sides accused each other of doing the pulling.

The sticking point is money. Cablevision wants an increase - industry sources put it as high as 30% - in the price Time Warner pays per month, per subscriber, to carry MSG/FSNY.

Time Warner believes the programming MSG/FSNY carries (the Metro Channel and Fox college sports networks carried on Time Warner digital are also part of the deal) does not merit a substantial increase.

Last night, saying it had attempted to negotiate a "fair and reasonable deal," MSG offered Time Warner the option of going to binding arbitration to settle the dispute. MSG said Time Warner had "pulled the plug" on the two networks.

"Time Warner has declined our offer to keep games on while we bring the dispute to an independent arbitrator," said Eric Gelfand, an MSG Networks spokesman. ". . . We are still prepared to live by the decision of an arbitrator and call on Time Warner Cable to agree with us to binding aribitration."

Time Warner said Cablevision instigated the blackout by rejecting its offer for a seven-month extension while negotiations continued. Cablevision, Time Warner said, decided to yank the networks when Time Warner refused the company's financial demands.

As for MSG's offer of binding arbitration, Keith Cocozza, a Time Warner spokesman, said: "Binding arbitration has proven to be the fuel contributing to the skyrocketing cost of professional sports. It would be irresponsible of us to engage in a process that would force higher retail rates on our customers."

Time Warner will offer $2 per month rebates to its subscribers for the loss of the channels. NBA TV and College Sports TV will replace MSG/FSNY. The first Knicks game to be blacked out will be tonight. Friday's exhibition game with the Dodgers will be the first Mets game to go down the tubes. The Mets have five more exhibitions scheduled for either FSNY or MSG. Once the season starts, Time Warner subscribers will be able to see 50 Mets games on Ch. 11.

[dkennedy]

The blackout also includes FoxSportsAtlantic, FoxSportsPacific and FoxSportsCentral. Basically, this is what the new sports tier looks like:

TW Sports Tier:

661 Tennis Channel
665 Speed Channel
667 Fuel
685 Outdoor Channel

and it will cost you $.50 cents if you're a sports tier subscriber. The sports tier fee is $1.95 but because of the blackout TW is crediting back $1.45 to all sports tier subscribers. Also, ALL subscribers will be receiving a $1.00 credit back for MSG & FSNNY (Pro-rated of course!).

[dkennedy]

Long & binding road

Dolan sends mixed signals in cable wars

To end blackout, James Dolan appeals to Time Warner to accept binding arbitration, the same concept he denied YES Network not long ago.

The Cablevision advertisement asks the following question: "What Is Time Warner Cable Afraid Of?"

The answer is simple: The same thing Cablevision boss James Dolan was afraid of: binding arbitration.

Binding arbitration is what Cablevision is trying to get Time Warner to accept. It's the only issue featured in Cablevision's public relations campaign to get a new contract with Time Warner that would put the Madison Square Garden Networks (MSG/FSNY) back on the air.

It's fine to look at this situation in a vacuum and say: Let's go to binding arbitration, let an independent party set the price and do a deal so Knicks and Mets games can be available to 2.4 million Time Warner subscribers.

Still, the only way to put Cablevision's call for binding arbitration in fair context is to look back to the company's battle with the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network. Veterans of that two-year fiasco are now laughing — long and loud.

"(Attorney general) Eliot Spitzer had to pull Jimmy (Dolan) kicking and screaming to get him to accept binding arbitration," a source, who participated in the YES/Cablevision negotiation, said.

Yankee fans may remember how Dolan finally reached that point. In 2002, YES' first year airing Yankee games, Dolan, wearing his cable operator hat (The MSG Networks compete directly with YES), did not want to pay the price YES wanted per subscriber, per month. Dolan also wanted YES to be carried on a "premium" tier. YES wanted to be on "basic" or "expanded basic."

This left YES off Cablevision for the entire 2002 season. It was not until Opening Day 2003 that Spitzer brokered a deal to get YES on Cablevision. As part of that one-year contract, YES was put on a "premium" tier. Both parties also agreed if they could not reach agreement on a long-term contract, following the 2003 season, they would submit to binding arbitration.

In late March 2004, a three-man arbitration panel ruled Cablevision must put YES on "expanded basic." The ruling also rolled back monthly subscriber fees Cablevision paid YES from $2.12 to $1.85. Dolan, upset that YES was put on "expanded basic," called the decision "a significant step backwards that ignores the consumer's desire for fairness and choice."

Dolan also immediately raised the price of Cablevision "expanded basic" by 95 cents per month.

Now, Dolan wants Time Warner to accept something forced on him — binding arbitration — that could result, as he said, in a "significant step backwards."

Dolan made Time Warner suits an offer he knew they would refuse. Their reaction left the door open for Cablevision, through advertisements and spin, to attempt to cast Time Warner in the villain role.

It's a transparent, disingenuous strategy that just might work. If enough heat comes down on Time Warner, the company may not have the stomach to weather the storm of bad publicity. Time Warner suits could cave. Or they could go the other way, draw the line, and tell Dolan to take a hike.

The Mets Network is also playing a role in the Time Warner blackout of MSG/FSNY.

This is all about hard, cold, business — and greed — for all involved. Time Warner, a partner with Comcast and Fred Wilpon in the new network, will have to set a price it charges itself (Time Warner Cable) and Cablevision for the Mets Network, which debuts in 2006.

Both sides may be trying to set the market for now and into the future. Fans, who will eventually pay for all this nonsense, are being shafted by Cablevision and Time Warner.

There is some thought Wilpon will put an end to all this. That he eventually will get so steamed about his team not being seen in Manhattan he will pressure Time Warner to do a deal with Cablevision.

A well-embedded baseball mole, familiar with all sides of this equation, said Wilpon won't put any heat on his partner. "If anything, Fred is a captive of Time Warner and Comcast," the mole said. "Both companies aren't shy about giving him advice. And he listens."

For Time Warner subscribers who don't have digital cable one positive of this blackout is the opportunity to watch NBA TV.

On Tuesday, watching this channel, I thought I was watching MSG. Hosting "NBA Insiders" was Deb Kaufman, veteran anchor of MSG's "SportsDesk."

And sitting by her side was none other than Scott Layden, the former Knicks GM. In 30 minutes, Layden had more interesting things to say than he did during his entire Knicks tenure.

Blacked out Knicks fans can still catch five contests on other TV outlets. Here's the sked: ESPN, Friday March 25 (at Seattle, 10:30 p.m.), ABC, Sunday April 10 (at Indy, 1 p.m.), YES, Friday April 1 (New Jersey, 8 p.m.), YES, Thursday April 7 (at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.), Telemundo, Saturday April 16 (at Charlotte, 1 p.m.).

[dkennedy]

Sports channels go blank in cable rate dispute

Time Warner Cable drops Madison Square Garden and Fox Sports channels.

Friday, March 25, 2005
By William LaRue Staff writer

Time Warner Cable's feud with the owner of sports channels MSG and Fox Sports New York appears to be settling in for the long haul.

Both of the channels, home to New York Mets baseball games and other sports, have been absent from Time Warner's systems since March 8. The dispute centers on increases in fees that Cablevision Systems Corp. wants to charge Time Warner for carrying the channels.

Some of the effect on customers:

Time Warner has replaced Fox Sports New York with College Sports TV (Channel 54 in Syracuse and its suburbs) and Madison Square Garden Network with NBA TV (Channel 56). The cable company is also no longer carrying three other regional Fox sports channels owned by Cablevision.

Time Warner says it has begun to adjust cable bills to give customers prorated refunds of up to $1 a month for the period MSG and FSNY stay off. It is also refunding up to $4.45 a month to customers subscribing to a digital sports tier containing the three Fox regional channels.

TV listing services for program guides were notified by Time Warner that its cable systems no longer carry the five sports channels.

Time Warner spokesman Jeff Unaitis said Thursday that the company was still hopeful it can bring back the sports channels. But meanwhile, he said, removing them from local listings will help viewers.

"Ultimately, it means less customer confusion and fewer calls," Unaitis said.

Time Warner has received several dozen complaints from Mets fans and other subscribers over the missing sports channels, Unaitis said. He expects the numbers to swell if the channels aren't back by the time the Mets play their first game of the season April 4 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Cablevision is adding pressure with a notice at MSGNetwork.com encouraging Time Warner subscribers to call a toll-free number to complain to their cable company. The number also has the option of putting callers in touch with satellite service DirecTV, which still carries the sports channels.

Time Warner customer and Mets fan Tom Belge, 42, of Syracuse, said he'll wait until the team's regular season before he looks into getting a satellite dish.

"I have thought about that, yes, and some of my friends have as well," he said. "I just wish they (Time Warner and Cablevision) would come to some kind of solution. They will both make money once they settle."

While neither side has publicly revealed amounts involved, news services have reported that Time Warner has been paying $2.90 a month per subscriber to carry the two sports networks. Reuters reported that Cablevision asked to raise that to $4 a month.

Unaitis said the cable company offered to continue carrying MSG and FSNY at current fees while contract talks continued, but Cablevision threatened to sue if Time Warner didn't pull the plug.

A Cablevision representative wasn't available for comment Thursday. The company released a statement, however, saying it offered to bring the matter to binding arbitration, but Time Warner declined.

Last August, Time Warner customers lost the same five sports channels for 11 days as the dispute heated up. The channels returned after both sides agreed to continue negotiations.


© 2005 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.

[dkennedy]

The scourge of New York sports

March 25, 2005

Jon Heyman
NEWSDAY SPORTS COLUMNIST

James Dolan killed the Knicks and Rangers, he ruined the Garden and he personally drove Marv Albert to New Jersey, a superfecta of sports management ineptitude that can never be duplicated.

Even if Daddy lets him keep his job a few more years.

"I don't know what the opposite of the Midas touch is," said Mayor Bloomberg's press secretary, Ed Skyler, "but whatever it is, he has it."

Already, perhaps no one has done more to devastate the New York sporting scene than Junior Dolan, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the lucky sperm society.

His leadership is so putrid, it smacks of sabotage. Now, apparently unsatisfied with contaminating half the major sports in New York, Dolan is spreading his plague by demonstrating a blind determination to kill the Jets' goal of building a stadium on the West Side of Manhattan.

If Junior Dolan succeeds, that would leave baseball as the only major sport he hasn't polluted. Although he tried hard. The Dolans once endeavored to buy the Yankees, and can you imagine this boob of the tube sitting in George Steinbrenner's chair? Under Dolan, the Yankees would be Tampa Bay with a $200-million payroll.

If Dolan succeeds at destroying the West Side dream - and if anyone's due for a win, it's him - he'd be hurting not only the Jets by leaving them as second-class interlopers in the Giants' home park in Joisey but also the City of New York by simultaneously crushing its chances of hosting the 2010 Super Bowl and the 2012 Olympics.

That the NFL consecutively awarded the Super Bowl to bland Jacksonville and frigid Detroit shouldn't lead anyone to question the game's enormous value. Brian McCarthy, director of corporate communications for the NFL, said the Super Bowl generates between $300 million and $400 million in revenue. With the Olympics another possibility, it isn't hard to see how the West Side project could pay for itself.

Starting with that whopper of a $600-million bill that'll go to taxpayers, there are some real arguments to be made for opposing the West Side project. But if anyone believes Junior Dolan is doing this for philanthropic reasons, they've never received a cable bill from him. His hard-to-figure motivation smacks of self-interest (and perhaps a little envy, given that he was a runner-up when Woody Johnson bought the Jets).

Besides the reported $600-million-plus bid he made for the site for what seems to be a very murky purpose (schools, housing), Dolan reportedly has spent $20 million on anti-stadium ads. That's a mind-boggling figure, considering how little the project would seem to impact his own downtrodden organization. Anyway, it's play money to him, as he'll surely pass on the cost to Long Island cable customers who have no way out.

"He wants to protect his monopoly. He's said that," Skyler said. Beyond that, Skyler said, "We're at a loss, and so is the rest of New York."

The mayor, a self-made man, understandably doesn't want to be among the first to lose to Dolan. "The scary thing is how much impact he can have on an economic development project that's important to New York's future," Skyler said. "He's destroyed the Knicks, he's destroyed the Rangers, he's destroyed the Garden."

And don't forget Marv.

It's hard to understand Dolan's logic. But insiders at the Garden say the biggest reason Dolan is hell-bent on killing the proposed stadium is that he is "paranoid" about losing concert dates, and about concert ticket prices being driven down to the point of reasonableness. Right now, the Garden sets the prices sky-high.

Dolan's efforts are misplaced, as usual. In reality, Bruce Ratner's Brooklyn arena is a more likely competitor for similar events than a 73,000-seat football stadium is. Yet Dolan didn't spend a dime or raise his voice over Brooklyn.

If the Garden continues to flounder, it won't be because it has a football-playing neighbor. It will be for the same reason that's dogged MSG for years, that Dolan is en route to taking a collar in decisions for the decade.

Garden people say Dolan thinks he knows basketball, which is dangerous. He has turned over the hockey operation to Glen Sather, who could not have done a worse job if his name were Mike Milbury. But basketball is Dolan's game. At least he thinks it is.

The one potential positive to the little bully's current obsession is that he might be too preoccupied to impede Isiah Thomas, Herb Williams and the Knicks in their longshot hope to play their way back into the playoff picture. It's a reasonably interesting story that's not being seen by 2.4 million viewers, thanks to Dolan's fight with Time Warner.

Dolan is always fighting with somebody. He's even fighting with his father, Charles, whose reputation as a visionary becomes more endangered the longer he leaves his son in charge.

[olivedog]

I have neighbors who are Mets fans and were wondering if they get the MLB ticket will they see the Mets games they will be missing this season not having MSG, FSNY? Theoretically since MLB ticket opens up regional sports channels (except for cheapo Comcast Phllly, of course) for games then if the game was broadcast via MSG on the ticket they should get it right? Thats what they pay for. I mean, I get the ticket and watch games via NESN,YES ect. A TW csr told me no but I think she is wrong...

[dkennedy]

I email this same question to TW and I have yet to receive an answer...I had 3 TW rep's give me 3 different answers...one said yes, the other no...and the last one, didn't know.

[olivedog]

I really think that the games will be on but I don't want to tell my old,old neigbors to spend 150 bucks and not get the Mets.

[dkennedy]

If they want just the MET games I think in my opinion you should tell them to wait and hold on to their money...as the season starts there will be more pressure for Cablevision and TW to iron out a contract to get MSG and the Fox Sport channels back on the air...this is the last year the METS will be on FSNY & MSG...starting in 2006 they will be on their own network partly owned by TW...meanwhile check out the schedule for MET games on other channels:

www.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym

Please note: I'm a Yankee fan...and my opinion although bias...has the best intentions...

[olivedog]

Yah, I see that about 50 games are on WB45. Probably a few on Espn too. I am not bias either, being a Phillies fan and all but 50 Mets games seems like torture enough. I only get about that many Phils games with the ticket, for some reason comcast philly won't allow broadcast of their games. The beginning of the season is all I want to see anyway since there out of if right after all star break..

[dkennedy]

Mets Fans Caught in the Middle of Television Dispute

April 06, 2005
Jonathan Auerbach

"I can see Shea Stadium from my roof, but I can't watch a Mets game in my living room? That's just crazy!" opines Andre from Corona, Queens. Yes, it's a difficult time for New York sports fans. Thanks to the squabbling of Time Warner and Cablevision, 2.4 million New Yorkers have been without MSG, Fox Sports Network NY, and Cablevision's other sports networks since March 7. This of course also affects the 350,000 Time Warner subscribers here in upstate New York. While one would normally expect to see the FSN NY and MSG networks on channels 24 and 100, respectively, they have been replaced by College Sports TV and NBA TV while the two parties duke it out.

Up until Monday, many of you were probably unaware of the channel pull, because, let's face it, no one really wants to watch the Knicks right now. However, with the start of the baseball season on Sunday, many of you were anxiously waiting to see the new-look Mets play their season opener on Monday against the Reds. Alas, that never transpired.

You probably first tuned into ESPN and ESPN2, but there were other games on instead. "Oh, it's probably on MSG," you thought. But wait, NBA TV was there in its place.

At this point, you were probably screaming at your television set. You would not be able to see Pedro's and Beltran's first games as members of the Mets. You were going to have to wait to see the highlights on SportsCenter. While you were listened on the radio or constantly updated the score on the Internet, you missed the Mets doing what they do best-losing the game after the bullpen squanders the lead.

Now that we're all familiar with the pain that Mets fans are experiencing, let's get to the actual dispute between Time Warner and Cablevision. According to givebackmsg.com, a website run by Cablevision:

"MSG has attempted to negotiate a fair and reasonable rights deal with Time Warner Cable for MSG Network and FSN New York. Time Warner Cable has declined the offer to keep games on while the dispute is brought to binding arbitration. Instead, Time Warner Cable has pulled the plug on MSG Network and FSN New York. MSG is still prepared to live by the decision of an independent arbitrator and call on Time Warner Cable to give the fans back their games."

Right on, MSG! Fight the good fight! Interested to know more about the "reasonable deal" that MSG had offered, I perused the site for a few minutes, only to find that there was no other information about this deal. Instead, there were only video testimonials from such impassioned Mets fans like Gregg from Queens, who proclaimed that "We deserve to be able to see ... the Mets; The Knicks too. I mean, c'mon."

Gregg has chosen to invoke the classic "I mean, c'mon," argument, which can be very convincing. However, that wasn't enough for me, so I sought out a different source. According to the New York Daily News, Cablevision wants Time Warner subscribers to pay 30% more per month for FSN NY and MSG. Time Warner refused this increase because no one wants to pay more to watch the Knicks' drive for a lottery pick, and Mets games are not worth nearly as much as Yankees games. Cablevision's offer to settle the dispute via binding arbitration was rejected by Time Warner because the company felt that going to arbitration would only lead to higher prices for its cable subscribers.

While each side has been involved in similar disputes in the past (Cablevision with the YES Network in 2002 and Time Warner with Disney in 2000), I can't really in good conscience side with a company that tried to derail New York's Super Bowl and Olympic bids, stop the Jets from getting a West Side stadium, and run the Knicks and the Rangers into the ground.

Let's not forget that this whole dispute was probably caused by Time Warner's investment in the new Mets network, which debuts in 2006. With the Mets off of MSG and FSN NY, Cablevision will only have the pitiful Knicks and Rangers to show on its networks. Who is going to pay 30% more per month to watch those games? Not me.

While the Mets may have self-destructed on Monday, it would be very ironic if the team completed a huge turnaround this season and made the playoffs when a large portion of its fan base only got to see a third of its games. However, don't despair, dear Mets fans. If you send a copy of this column into DirecTV, you'll get free installation and free HBO for six months, as well as all the Mets game you can handle. If you're still angry at Time Warner for taking away your Knicks and Mets games, you can find solace with fellow Knicks fan Harold from Englewood - "I'm a real diehard Knicks fan. Not being able to see any of the new Knicks and things like that, [not] being able to see Sweetney and all that other stuff, it really makes me mad."

Jonathan Auerbach is a Sun Staff Writer. I Never Kid appears alternate Wednesdays.

[Skaggs]

There is a huge DirecTV ad in the sports section of today's Times Union trying to entice Mets fans who are TWC customers to switch to DirecTV.

[dkennedy]

and Dish Network got into the act by offering the service for 1 year for $19.95

[dkennedy]

BLOOMBERG: CABLEVISION'S TO BLAME FOR METS TV BLACKOUT

By FRANKIE EDOZIEN

April 16, 2005 -- Mayor Bloomberg blasted Cablevision yesterday for keeping the Mets' winning streak off most city residents' TV sets — and he accused the company of not caring about New Yorkers.

"We finally have the Mets — [five wins] in a row — and half the city can't see them," Bloomberg fumed on his weekly WABC radio show.

"Just when you think a company can't find any more ways to really stick it to the people of this city, they come up with another one: 'Let's take the winning team off television and don't let people see it.' "

Cablevision controls the MSG and Fox Sports New York cable channels, which carry the bulk of the Mets' 162-game schedule. The company is seeking an increase in the fees Time Warner pays it to carry the channels.

And that means that Time Warner's 2.4 million subscribers in the New York area are limited to the several dozen Mets games scheduled to be carried this year by Channel 11 and Fox's Channel 5.

Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden, has also tried to block construction of a Jets stadium on the far West Side.

"Apparently, the mayor is confused," said Eric Gelfand, a spokesman for MSG. "It is Time Warner Cable that took the games off their cable systems."

Gelfand said if Bloomberg wants the games back, he should join Cablevision in "urging Time Warner Cable to accept our offer of binding arbitration, thereby settling the matter in the fairest possible way."

[dkennedy]

For Many Viewers, a Season in the Dark

By Richard Sandomir
New York Times

April 26, 2005

The 51-day impasse that has kept the Mets, the MetroStars and other programming off Time Warner's local cable systems is all about binding arbitration.

It is not the most entertaining or exciting reason for a lengthy stalemate. Still, the deadlock has disenfranchised Time Warner subscribers who look forward to the days when Mets games are on Channel 11, where ratings are up 41 percent, and who cringe on days when they are on Cablevision's MSG and FSNY, where ratings have tumbled 40 percent without Time Warner's 2.4 million subscribers watching.

That's no way to treat a New Met like Victor Diaz, is it?

Cablevision is intent on arbitration as the only solution to the standoff. No more extensions like several past ones that kept MSG and FSNY on Time Warner.

No mediation, which Time Warner advocates. Nothing but arbitration. But they can no more agree on how to resolve their differences than on how Time Warner will pay to show networks that have been diminished by the loss of the Yankees and the Nets to YES and by next year's loss of the Mets to their own channel.

"We've been through 15 months of negotiations, and we haven't been able to get anywhere," Mike Bair, the president of Madison Square Garden Networks, said yesterday. Arbitration, he added, "is the only way to get the games on."

This may turn on which sides feels more pain. Cablevision is the G. Gordon Liddy of corporations, willing to hold a hand to the fire to maintain its principles. One reason for Time Warner to resist a deal despite fan consternation is that it has gained more subscribers than it has lost since the MSG-FSNY blackout began.

But Time Warner proved to be a softy in 2001 when it was among the first cable operators to make a deal with the fledgling YES Network, in part because it did not want customers to be without Yankee games so soon after the 9/11 terror attacks.

That may be at the root of Cablevision's stance against Time Warner. Cablevision is surely incensed that the Mets are starting a network after this season with Time Warner and Comcast, a network that will devalue MSG and FSNY.

But Cablevision may have all along resented Time Warner's earlier acquiescence to YES; had Time Warner hung tough with Cablevision, the cost of carrying the Yankees-run network might have been significantly lower.

Now, they are far apart, more divided than they were last summer, when an early flare-up of the dispute led to a 10-day blackout of MSG and FSNY on Time Warner systems.

"We need to get into a room together, agree to a process, and we need that to happen immediately," said Howard Szarfarc, the president of Time Warner Cable of New York City. Strangely, he is optimistic. "It's always possible," he said.

There is probably a greater likelihood of pigs elevating skyward and slipping the surly bonds of earth. The two antagonists have not met since before MSG and FSNY were taken off Time Warner systems on March 7. No meetings are set.

Szarfarc said arbitration was too risky. Despite having a compelling case for arbitrators - "They're asking for a lot of money for a lot less programming," he said - the company does not want to chance a binding long-term ruling that it dislikes.

Time Warner does not want a third party dictating its prices or how it markets its sports networks. As evidence of his fears, Szarfarc noted that Cablevision raised its subscribers' fees by 95 cents a month last year after three arbitrators ruled that Cablevision had to carry YES as an expanded basic channel, not as a pay network.

Two years ago, Time Warner offered expanded basic cable subscribers the option of not paying $1 a month for YES if they did not want it. YES sued, charging that by making YES a stand-alone network, Time Warner had violated the contract.

The legal action evaporated recently when YES and Time Warner reached a long-term deal without third-party helpers.

There will be no agreement in the Time Warner-Cablevision fracas without some help, but no one wants what the other one has offered.

"The right way is to have a process that is very sure," Szarfarc said, alluding to mediation. "Sit across the table and negotiate what we have to pay."

No, Bair said. "We believe at some point, with consumers making a lot of noise, reasonable minds will prevail, and they'll agree to binding arbitration," he said.

It was Eliot Spitzer, the state's attorney general, who got Cablevision to agree to arbitration in the YES battle; Spitzer later brokered extensions that kept MSG and FSNY on Time Warner through March 7. He has stayed in touch with both sides, a spokesman said, but he has not been as aggressive in seeking a solution.

"Any characterization that we haven't been interested in monitoring the situation is not accurate," said a Spitzer spokesman, Paul Larrabee. "We continue to encourage both parties to speak to each other for the public benefit."