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Time Warner-MSG contract feud may hurt Sabres fansDec 18, 2011 (The Buffalo News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ON OCCASION THIS SEASON -- mostly for Buffalo Sabres home games --local hockey fans might have wished they missed the game. Starting New Year's Day, hundreds of thousands of Time Warner Cable subscribers might not have a choice. That's because of a negotiation standoff between the nationwide cable provider and Madison Square Garden Network whose contract expires at the end of the month. Time Warner officials accuse MSG of price gouging the cable provider and say the network is also insisting that it carry the lightly viewed music network FUSE for "millions" of dollars. "The decision to take MSG away from our customers after Dec. 31 is MSG's and MSG's alone," said Joli Plucknette-Farmen, local Time Warner spokeswoman. "MSG wants a 53 percent increase in the price we currently pay. We buy sports all over the country and that is way out of line." MSG Network says it's Time Warner's threat to drop its programming and has launched an Internet campaign urging sports fans to switch television providers. Besides the Sabres, MSG also provides coverage for the NHL's New York Rangers and Islanders as well as the New Jersey Devils, the NBA's New York Knicks as well as other sports programming. Michael Bair, president of MSG Media, issued a statement Friday that was posted on the Rangers' website saying the network is committed to negotiating with Time Warner "until the last possible moment" but admitted "things don't look good." "We have been attempting to negotiate a new agreement with Time Warner Cable for close to two years, and are simply asking them to pay fair and reasonable rates that are consistent with what other providers pay for our programming -- nothing more," Bair said. In the meantime, the Sabres -- who might have the most to lose by a protracted battle between the two giant combatants -- are caught in the middle. Although the team is not party to the issue, it remains under contract with MSG Network though the 2016-17 season. "Our partnership with MSG is a strong one," Sabres president Ted Black said. "MSG met with us this week and advised us generally on the status of their negotiations with Time Warner Cable. We're hopeful this situation gets resolved without any interruption to our fans." Pucknette-Farmen acknowledged the two were close to brokering an agreement for a 6.5 percent increase in the price Time Warner pays for MSG, but the network "reneged on that offer two weeks ago when we refused to pay millions for the lightly viewed FUSE network." She said Time Warner even offered MSG an extension at close to the 6.5 percent rate hike through next September to keep its programming on and buy more time for negotiations, but the network refused. Dish Network subscribers have been without MSG since October 2010 after a contract negotiation between both sides involving many of the same issues broke down and an agreement couldn't be reached. [email protected] ___ (c)2011 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.) Visit The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.) at www.buffalonews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |