Cablevision and the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network are now in dispute over how many of the cable operator's subscribers elected to add the network to their monthly bill.
In an agreement reached five weeks ago, about 1.9 million of Cablevision's three million subscribers were given the choice of paying $1.95 a month for YES; $4.95 a month for YES, the Madison Square Garden Network and Fox Sports New York, or upgrading to a premium tier.
Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan said yesterday during testimony at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing that `less than 9 percent' of the 1.9 million had elected to add YES.
While Cablevision officials said the range was 5 percent to 9 percent, or 95,000 to 171,000 subscribers, YES said the number was greater.
YES and Cablevision resolved a 16-month dispute March 31 to carry the network, which shows baseball's New York Yankees, in the area's largest cable system.
The one-year agreement was reached less than an hour before the start of the baseball season. If mediation does not produce a long-term contract, YES and Cablevision must submit to binding arbitration.
The relationship between sport and broadcast will be one of the feature discussions at next week's SportAccord conference in Madrid. To find out more information on the event and to register as a delegate, click on the link below.
Despite having finally agreed a carriage deal, the dispute between pay-TV operator Cablevision and the YES network goes on.
