Cablevision Blasts News Corp.'s Rejection of Cable TV Retransmission Offer
News Corp. (NWS) turned down Cablevision Systems Corp.'s (CVC) retransmission price offer for Fox's New York and Philadelphia television stations, prompting Cablevision to accuse News Corp. of operating in "bad faith" and solicit the Federal Communications Commission to restore Fox TV signals to 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the Northeast.
News Corp. said Cablevision's offer amounted to a discounted rate because and was merely a "publicity stunt."
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"We offered News Corp. what they asked to be paid for Fox 5 and Fox 29, and News Corp. has said no," said Cablevision spokesman Charles Schueler in a statement Wednesday. "It is now clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that News Corp. is operating in bad faith."
Fox and Cablevision have been wrangling over retransmission price for the Fox Network. Stations such as WNYW-TV in New York have been blacked out to Cablevision's customers since Oct. 16. A continued blackout would prevent many New York households from watching the World Series, whose first game will air on Fox starting Wednesday night.
Cablevision earlier today said it offered to pay News Corp. the same rate the network charges Time Warner Cable for one year, adding that the rate would be the highest Cablevision pays for any New York station.
"Today's incomplete proposal is not acceptable," News Corp. said in a separate statement Wednesday. "Cablevision is seeking a discounted 'package rate' without buying the entire package."
