Andre Yoskowitz
27 Oct 2010 23:05
Fox rejected Cablevision's latest offer Wednesday afternoon, meaning that over 3 million sports fans in metropolitan New York City and Philadelphia were not able to watch Game 1 of the World Series, featuring the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers.
Cablevision also emailed its subscribers saying it would reimburse any user the $10 it costs for a premium MLB.com subscription. Premium users can watch any game from their computers or TVs.
The cable company offered to pay News Corp. (parent of Fox) the same rate that Time Warner Cable currently pays for Fox, for one year, but Fox quickly dismissed the offer, which is meant to be a package deal that includes My 9, NatGeo Wild and Fox Business.
Fox called the offer "yet another in a long line of publicity stunts. Cablevision is seeking a discounted 'package rate' without buying the entire package."
Cablevision CEO James Dolan has sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, asking him to mediate the dispute and return the signal to Cablevision subscribers until a deal is agreed upon.