It took a mad outbreak of Linsanity to rouse a fickle and passive segment of New York\u2019s sports fandom to the reality they can\u2019t watch Knick games on TV.\u00a0 This is actually good news.\u00a0 It likely will increase pressure on the MSG network to restore its signal to the homes of 2.31 million Time Warner Cable customers.<\/p>\n
MSG\u2019s failure to extract a sizable rate increase from Time Warner led to the blackout of Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils games the first of the year.<\/p>\n
Thirty-percent of the MSG Network\u2019s 7.7 million subscribers get MSG through Time Warner.\u00a0 Some have no choice in signal carrier.\u00a0 Many city dwellers can\u2019t get DirecTV because of building bans on dishes.<\/p>\n
It was only after Jeremy Lin\u2019s game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer in Toronto Tuesday night that frustration over the blackout went from a murmur to a shout.<\/p>\n
Both sides in the dispute refuse to disclose the per-subscriber rate they\u2019re aiming for to make a deal.\u00a0 The secretive aspect of this is maddening to the guy at home trying to understand what\u2019s at stake.\u00a0 The two corporations at odds here keep channel rates quiet to protect the multitude of carriage deals each already have on the books – plus the ones they\u2019ll make down the road.<\/p>\n
Representatives from both Time Warner and MSG appeared on Francesa\u2019s show Wednesday.\u00a0 While only three of every ten MSG homes are dark, the impact is much bigger if you leave outer-fringe markets out of the equation.<\/p>\n
Francesa said going in it would be futile to broker a deal on-air but he likely couldn\u2019t have anticipated what a complete dolt the Time Warner rep turned out to be.\u00a0 Director of Communications Eric Mangan came on the program via telephone and failed to expound on the stalemate beyond basic talking points advanced in a press release issued when the signal was yanked six weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Ninety minutes later, MSG sent its president of media Mike Bair into the WFAN studio.\u00a0 The appearance of an articulate, high-ranking executive on the show stood in stark contrast to a Time Warner flack stammering through a slogan-filled crib sheet.<\/p>\n
Bair rejected Mangan\u2019s claim that MSG is demanding a 53-percent increase in the per-subscriber rate set in the now-expired deal struck in 2005.\u00a0 Like Mangan, Bair wouldn\u2019t tell Mike what the monthly rate was when MSG turned off the signal.\u00a0 All Bair would say is that the rate MSG is seeking from Time Warner is no more than what it\u2019s getting currently from other providers like DirecTV and Comcast.<\/p>\n
After it was over, Francesa was exasperated.\u00a0 While he believes the onus in this dispute is on Time Warner because it\u2019s the entity that has a direct business relationship with the home subscriber, Francesa feels like it\u2018s difficult to know who\u2018s telling the truth on where the negotiations stand.\u00a0 \u201cYou put \u2018em on to see if you can nudge the two sides to the middle.\u00a0 I understand they\u2019re both full of beans.\u00a0 It\u2019s not pleasant.\u201d<\/p>\n
I actually lean toward thinking the burden is on MSG right now.\u00a0 Bair was awfully smug in saying Linsanity and the success of the Rangers gives his side leverage.\u00a0 Why the boast when genuine fans are getting screwed?\u00a0 A Thursday report written by the Post\u2019s Claire Atkinson says MSG is in fact seeking a 53-percent hike on top of a current rate in the neighborhood of four bucks a head.\u00a0 I get the sense MSG is playing a brand of hardball that has taken this disagreement to a place beyond one that leads to compromise.\u00a0 The tens of millions of dollars gained annually from an extreme position needs to move to the middle.\u00a0 It\u2019s unfortunate we don\u2019t know what the middle is.\u00a0 Bair needs to square his claim MSG will give Time Warner a deal at or below terms it has with DirecTV and\/or Comcast with what is now a protracted and painful period of zero progress in negotiations.<\/p>\n
A few other bits:<\/p>\n
-Mangan said there will be no cable bill rebate for MSG\u2019s lost time on Time Warner.\u00a0 He also said the number of customers who cancelled service as a result of the dispute is \u201cinsignificant.\u201d<\/p>\n
-Citing data from the research firm SNL Kagan, Marketwatch reporter Sam Mamudi says MSG is paid an average of $2.63 for each of its 7.7 million total subscribers.\u00a0\u00a0 To reconcile this information with Richard Sandomir saying the number is $4.91 (same source), I can only assume the latter figure applies to the rate for those in New York City.\u00a0 It\u2019s likely that different regions on the Time Warner service map pay different rates depending on the level of demand for New York sports.\u00a0 The half-dozen or so news outlets that have attempted to report numbers would lead one to believe MSG was getting four bucks and change per NYC subscriber before the first of the year – and wants at least another buck or so a month going forward.\u00a0 Should MSG win its fight with Time Warner, it\u2019s possible their per-subscriber rate would exceed what ESPN gets from cable and satellite firms (estimated to be about $5 a month).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It took a mad outbreak of Linsanity to rouse a fickle and passive segment of New York\u2019s sports fandom to the reality they can\u2019t watch Knick games on TV.\u00a0 This is actually good news.\u00a0 It likely will increase pressure on … Continue reading