KIDWCKED
10-16-2010, 08:43 PM
c/p from espn.com
ESPN.com news services
It's time to dust off those TV antennas again for many baseball fans in the New York metro area -- or hope the nearest electronics store has one left.
News Corp.'s Fox pulled its channels off Cablevision early Saturday after the companies' programming deal expired and negotiations for a new one stalled, threatening broadcasts of the National League Championship Series for some 3 million Cablevision subscribers in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Representatives from both companies said Saturday they were returning to the negotiating table at noon ET to try to resolve the dispute.
"As long as there is a serious effort on the part of Cablevision, we will be at the table," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin said. "We want to settle this as quickly as possible."
The blackout affects Fox 5 and My9 of New York and Philadelphia's Fox29. Subscribers also lose access to cable channels Fox Business Network, NatGeo Wild and Fox Deportes.
The channels went dark when the programming deal expired just after midnight Friday. Such deals spell out how much a cable TV system pays the broadcaster to carry its signals over the cable lineup.
The impasse means the subscribers could lose access to Game 1 of the NLCS, when the Phillies and Giants play on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Cablevision has called on News Corp. to put Fox5 and My9 back on Cablevision immediately and submit to binding arbitration under a neutral third party
"News Corp.'s decision to remove Fox programming from 3 million Cablevision households is a black eye for broadcast television in America," Cablevision spokesman Charles Schueler said.
Fox released a statement blaming Cablevision for the impasse.
"In an effort to avoid this very situation, we started this process in May and made numerous reasonable proposals to Cablevision," said Mike Hopkins, president of Fox Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing. "However, we remain far apart and Cablevision has made it clear that they do not share our view regarding the value of Fox's networks."
In separate fee disputes this year, Cablevision customers have experienced brief blackouts of The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC broadcast signal and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.'s Food Network and HGTV. Subscribers missed the first 15 minutes of the Oscars in the ABC dispute.
Cablevision Systems Corp. has said News Corp.'s Fox is making "outrageous fee demands" for the right to carry the signals of the three cable channels and three TV stations.
Cablevision says it pays $70 million a year for access to 12 Fox channels, including those in dispute, and that News Corp. is now asking for more than $150 million a year for the same programming. It said Thursday that it is willing to submit to binding arbitration and called on Fox not to pull the plug.
Fox rejected the call for arbitration, saying the process would "reward Cablevision for refusing to negotiate fairly."
"Direct business-to-business negotiation is the only way to resolve this issue," it said in a statement.
While Fox didn't dispute Cablevision's claims, it called Cablevision "hypocritical" because it pays more for two of its sister company channels, MSG and MSG Plus, than it does for all 12 Fox channels. MSG and MSG Plus are owned by Madison Square Garden Inc., which like Cablevision is controlled by the Dolan family.
Lawmakers have begun to speak up on the issue, including Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who called for arbitration so viewers wouldn't have their TV programming disrupted.
Israel said in a statement Friday that he had asked the Federal Communications Commission to intervene in the dispute.
ESPN.com news services
It's time to dust off those TV antennas again for many baseball fans in the New York metro area -- or hope the nearest electronics store has one left.
News Corp.'s Fox pulled its channels off Cablevision early Saturday after the companies' programming deal expired and negotiations for a new one stalled, threatening broadcasts of the National League Championship Series for some 3 million Cablevision subscribers in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Representatives from both companies said Saturday they were returning to the negotiating table at noon ET to try to resolve the dispute.
"As long as there is a serious effort on the part of Cablevision, we will be at the table," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin said. "We want to settle this as quickly as possible."
The blackout affects Fox 5 and My9 of New York and Philadelphia's Fox29. Subscribers also lose access to cable channels Fox Business Network, NatGeo Wild and Fox Deportes.
The channels went dark when the programming deal expired just after midnight Friday. Such deals spell out how much a cable TV system pays the broadcaster to carry its signals over the cable lineup.
The impasse means the subscribers could lose access to Game 1 of the NLCS, when the Phillies and Giants play on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Cablevision has called on News Corp. to put Fox5 and My9 back on Cablevision immediately and submit to binding arbitration under a neutral third party
"News Corp.'s decision to remove Fox programming from 3 million Cablevision households is a black eye for broadcast television in America," Cablevision spokesman Charles Schueler said.
Fox released a statement blaming Cablevision for the impasse.
"In an effort to avoid this very situation, we started this process in May and made numerous reasonable proposals to Cablevision," said Mike Hopkins, president of Fox Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing. "However, we remain far apart and Cablevision has made it clear that they do not share our view regarding the value of Fox's networks."
In separate fee disputes this year, Cablevision customers have experienced brief blackouts of The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC broadcast signal and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.'s Food Network and HGTV. Subscribers missed the first 15 minutes of the Oscars in the ABC dispute.
Cablevision Systems Corp. has said News Corp.'s Fox is making "outrageous fee demands" for the right to carry the signals of the three cable channels and three TV stations.
Cablevision says it pays $70 million a year for access to 12 Fox channels, including those in dispute, and that News Corp. is now asking for more than $150 million a year for the same programming. It said Thursday that it is willing to submit to binding arbitration and called on Fox not to pull the plug.
Fox rejected the call for arbitration, saying the process would "reward Cablevision for refusing to negotiate fairly."
"Direct business-to-business negotiation is the only way to resolve this issue," it said in a statement.
While Fox didn't dispute Cablevision's claims, it called Cablevision "hypocritical" because it pays more for two of its sister company channels, MSG and MSG Plus, than it does for all 12 Fox channels. MSG and MSG Plus are owned by Madison Square Garden Inc., which like Cablevision is controlled by the Dolan family.
Lawmakers have begun to speak up on the issue, including Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who called for arbitration so viewers wouldn't have their TV programming disrupted.
Israel said in a statement Friday that he had asked the Federal Communications Commission to intervene in the dispute.