# News: YES Readying Antitrust Suit vs. Cablevision



## Guest (Apr 23, 2002)

From Broadcasting & Cable...

YES Readying Antitrust Suit vs. Cablevision

"Hey kettle, you are black", said the pot.



> Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network plans to file an antitrust suit this week against its archrival, Cablevision Systems Corp., sources confirmed.


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## John Corn (Mar 21, 2002)

Cablevision Systems Corp., the only New York-area cable operator not carrying New York Yankees baseball games, said on Tuesday it will issue a monthly rebate of 55 cents to subscribers who received the games in past years. 
The announcement of the rebate, which is expected to total $17.4 million annually, came three weeks into the baseball season. Cablevision's MSG network lost the broadcast rights this year to the newly created YES Network, which is controlled by the Yankees.

YES Network, which was not immediately available for comment, has asked Cablevision for $72 million in fees to carry the games and insisted they be carried on its basic service.

Bethpage, New York-based Cablevision has balked at the price, saying it would have to hike monthly rates by $2 to accommodate the asking price. It has refused to do so, arguing that a majority of its subscribers do not want to pay for it.

Instead, it has offered to carry the games on a premium channel, allowing YES network to set a monthly fee and keep all of the revenues. The YES Network has rejected the offer, arguing no other regional sports network subscribers to such terms.

Full Story


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## Rusty (Apr 26, 2002)

George Steinbrenner owns YES. He's making money hand over fist. And he has the "nads" to go and sue Cablevision on an Antitrust issue. A pox on both their houses.


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## Chardo (Apr 11, 2002)

Of course the majority of Cablevision subscribers don't want to pay $2 for YES. They also don't want to pay for Telecare, BET, Food Network, Smog Vision, and the Cheese Channel.

Cablevision refuses to put YES on basic because they would have to unfairly raise everyone's rate by $2. This sob story is coming from a company that has raised rates every year to provide all sorts of obscure channels that draw ratings a fraction of those for Yankees games.

Don't be misled that Cablevision is looking out for their customers here. This is just sour grapes over their MSG network losing the broadcast rights to the Yankees when they balked at last year's contract renewal offer. Steinbrenner said here's the deal, and if you don't like it, we'll form our own network.

As much a jerk as Steinbrenner has been through the years, you can't blame him here. He's always been out to make money, and that's just the American way. He has the product, so he calls the shots.

Cablevision has now lost the Yankees, and next season will lose the Nets and Devils (who are now indirectly owned by Steinbrenner). This will leave a huge void in Cablevision's sports programming. Their networks will still hold the broadcast rights to the Mets and Islanders, but their main programming will be the pathetic Knicks and Rangers (the two teams they also happen to own).

Cablevision is currently battling a class action suit from subscribers, and now faces an antitrust suit as well. They have lost thousands of customers to DirecTV, and will lose many more as the baseball season advances. They are losing fortunes owning the Knicks and Rangers, the teams with the highest payrolls in their sports which cannot even make the playoffs. They bought The Wiz (a bankrupt chain of electronics stores) to help sell their products, and it continues to lose millions. Their stock keeps hitting new lows every day. If there was ever a sinking ship, this is it.


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## pmichael (Mar 25, 2002)

I'm for one happy that Cablevision is not buckling under when it comes to offering YES. While Cablevision is hardly innocent here, consider that YES will only allow the network to be added to a basic cable package. In that way, YES is forcing everyone to pay at least $2 when there are many non-Yankee fans who could care less(or non-sports oriented people). And what happens when next year YES says it wants $3. Where does this madness stop? Just as Cablevision can't be considered customer-friendly, the same can be said for YES.

And yes there are obscure channels carried which many people won't watch, but the going rate for these channels is not anywhere close to $2. 

In short, all I'm saying is Cablevision is hardly the only bad guy here. YES is just as guilty, if not more so.


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## newflyer7 (Apr 10, 2002)

as a dishnetwork subscriber living in ny i cannot get the yes network. i don`t want the yes network. mets fan here. from what i have read in the tabloids , yes wants dishnetwork to put it on its basic package all over the country. the price they want would mean everyone would have to pay whether your in california or new york at least 2.00 per subscriber. the catch here is that the people in ca will be paying for nothing, yankee games would be blacked out. yes is being real greedy if you ask me.


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## newflyer7 (Apr 10, 2002)

yes filed lawsuit yesterday story from newsday http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-yes302689066apr30.story


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## James_F (Apr 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by newflyer7 _
> *everyone would have to pay whether your in california or new york at least 2.00 per subscriber*


Where did you hear that? D* didn't pass any cost on to the consumer. YES is the same as any FSN. Why can Fox Sports add 20 "local" fox sports stations and the Yankees can't?


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## newflyer7 (Apr 10, 2002)

read it in newsday , dish wants it only to be available like turner south or giev yes their own pay channel where yes gets all the money


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