Post by dkennedy on Mar 3, 2005 9:44:17 GMT -5
Mets, Knicks facing blackout
BY STEVE ZIPAY
NY Newday STAFF WRITER
March 3, 2005
Fans are facing a shutout of some Mets telecasts from Florida and some Knicks games. If a contract dispute isn't resolved by Monday night, the latest deadline in a long-running saga, Cablevision could pull Mets spring-training and Knicks telecasts and other sports programming for 2.4 million Time Warner subscribers in Manhattan, Queens, parts of Brooklyn, upstate and New Jersey.
The impasse prompted the blackout of Mets telecasts on Cablevision-controlled Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports Net New York for 11 days last August. At the time, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer helped craft an interim deal at the 11th hour with deadlines that since have been extended twice.
The two sides are talking and an extension of Monday's deadline is possible, two persons familiar with the matter said yesterday. "We expect that our issue with Time Warner Cable will be resolved before it has any effect on our customers and fans," said Eric Gelfand, a Garden spokesman.
The standoff centers on the monthly fee that Time Warner pays Cablevision to carry MSG and FSNY. Cablevision is seeking an 18-percent increase. Time Warner does not want to pay that much, especially over the long term, because the Mets will leave Cablevision next season for a network jointly owned by the team, Comcast and Time Warner.
Without an extension or settlement, the first live telecast affected would be Knicks-Wizards on MSG on Tuesday. The first endangered baseball telecasts would be Mets-Dodgers on March 11, on MSG at 7 p.m., and Mets-Cardinals on March 12 on FSNY at 1 p.m. Mets games on WPIX/Ch. 11 would not be affected.
BY STEVE ZIPAY
NY Newday STAFF WRITER
March 3, 2005
Fans are facing a shutout of some Mets telecasts from Florida and some Knicks games. If a contract dispute isn't resolved by Monday night, the latest deadline in a long-running saga, Cablevision could pull Mets spring-training and Knicks telecasts and other sports programming for 2.4 million Time Warner subscribers in Manhattan, Queens, parts of Brooklyn, upstate and New Jersey.
The impasse prompted the blackout of Mets telecasts on Cablevision-controlled Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports Net New York for 11 days last August. At the time, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer helped craft an interim deal at the 11th hour with deadlines that since have been extended twice.
The two sides are talking and an extension of Monday's deadline is possible, two persons familiar with the matter said yesterday. "We expect that our issue with Time Warner Cable will be resolved before it has any effect on our customers and fans," said Eric Gelfand, a Garden spokesman.
The standoff centers on the monthly fee that Time Warner pays Cablevision to carry MSG and FSNY. Cablevision is seeking an 18-percent increase. Time Warner does not want to pay that much, especially over the long term, because the Mets will leave Cablevision next season for a network jointly owned by the team, Comcast and Time Warner.
Without an extension or settlement, the first live telecast affected would be Knicks-Wizards on MSG on Tuesday. The first endangered baseball telecasts would be Mets-Dodgers on March 11, on MSG at 7 p.m., and Mets-Cardinals on March 12 on FSNY at 1 p.m. Mets games on WPIX/Ch. 11 would not be affected.