The cable TV blackout of Knicks, Rangers, Devils and Islanders games is three weeks old now and hundreds of thousands of affected sports fans have no concrete understanding of why their games are gone.
Neither side in the contractual dispute between MSG and Time Warner is publicly acknowledging or advancing specific details or proposals connected to their disagreement. Rather than state their respective factual cases to the fair-minded sports programming consumer that’s been through these sagas before, both conglomerates are buying up full-page newspaper ads that lob sophomoric trash talk at the other corporate behemoth.
A look at MSG’s “Get The Facts” page on its web site reveals no pertinent information about what MSG wants from Time Warner in exchange for supplying the MSG and MSG Plus channels.
Even the writers who cover sports media in this town have been unable or unwilling to dig up and disseminate much in the way of specifics on what is a substantial concern to many.
So, as a longtime Time Warner Cable subscriber here in Queens , let me supplement the few known numbers at play here with an observation about what’s really an aggravating disruption in service.
Richard Sandomir of the Times obtained data from the research firm SNL Kagan that says MSG charged Time Warner a total of $4.91 per cable subscriber for its two sports channels before turning off the signal on 1-1-12.
In a news release posted at its web site, Time Warner says it thought it had a deal to pay more for MSG and MSG Plus. It was prepared to pay a 6.5-percent increase (32 cents extra) per month just prior to losing MSG and Plus. Shortly after the NBA lockout ended, Time Warner says MSG upped its demand and asked for a 53-percent increase in the monthly fee (a $2.60 hike).
MSG has denied Time Warner’s latter assertion but won’t disclose what it’s seeking.
The two parties have also bickered about carriage of the MSG-owned FUSE channel but I can’t imagine that’s a central concern in this matter.
My position on this as a sports fan is a bit complicated. I understand Time Warner’s desire to keep content costs in check. My monthly Time Warner cable/internet bill is already $190 a month and each new content cost increase is eventually passed on to the customer.
MSG’s near monopoly on winter pro sports programming in this city makes it must-have. You really gotta have it. The Rangers are playing well right now. Their thrilling OT win in Boston on Saturday was off the screen for big chunks of Manhattan , Queens and Brooklyn and that’s rough on the hockey fan. If one believes Time Warner’s high-end assertion that MSG wants an extra $2.60 monthly per customer, I’m in the camp that would pay it and be done with it to end the blackout.
But if Time Warner conceded to that demand, it would probably bother those who don’t watch MSG much, if at all.
A fair starting point on all of this of course would be transparency on content costs. Tell the customer what each ingredient in the stew costs so they can mull it all over.
The problem with disclosure of cable TV’s individual channel costs is that it leads to talk of a la carte pricing. The consumer would love to pick and choose what it pays for.
The cable industry opposes this because it profits from selling products as take-it-or-leave-it bundles that include channels you don’t want.
Time Warner recorded a $356 million third quarter profit in 2011 and was $1.1 billion on the plus side through the first nine months of the year. The Cablevision (MSG’s parent) numbers over the same periods ($39 mil and $231 mil) are much smaller but still aren’t shabby.
The fight over how much MSG gets for its content comes down to millions on one side or the other but is just a couple of bucks a month here or there to the Knick fan. Or the hockey fan. Whatever it is, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a ticket.
Me? I’m just listening to games on the radio hoping they come back. The Post ran a story Saturday saying the stalemate could last months.
Time Warner probably has greater leverage since MSG owns the teams that now have a new and large bunch of aggrieved fans. Time Warner can say with some legitimacy that it’s attempting to protect its customers.
I just want the channels back on. Fans are on the short end of a disagreement between two rich corporations who won’t even say exactly what they’re squabbling about.