Many sports fans lost out on Sunday when Cablevision subscribers were unable to see local games because of a dispute between the cable company and FOX News Corp. Fans in the New York-area who are Cablevision subscribers missed out on seeing the Giants-Lions game which was televised by the FOX network. Likewise, Cablevision subscribers in Philadelphia missed the Phillies-Giants NLCS game which was also on the FOX network later in the evening.
As a DirecTV customer, and man, I am sick of paying well over triple figures each month, luckily I wouldn’t have to worry about such an issue. Still, it’s awful that some fans who are paying for cable are caught in between this negotiation and are missing out on big games for their favorite teams.
At the heart of the dispute is FOX wanting more money from Cablevision per subscriber. The TV networks used to make most of their money selling advertisements, but with the economic downturn their business model is changing. They’re now trying to make more money through cable subscribers. Without a deal in place between the sides, News Corp has pulled its stations from Cablevision. Unfortunately, like usual, the fans paying their cable bills are the ones losing out. Let’s hope they agree to an amicable deal that doesn’t result in higher fees for subscribers.
