Cablevision subscribers in the New York Metropolitan area had to go to the bar to watch the Phillies take on the Giants in the NLCS.
The cable company and the Fox parent News Corporation are trying to resolve a programming fee dispute which led to blackouts on fox channels for 3 million cablevision subscribers in parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut early Saturday morning.
The blackout affects the Philadelphia-based Fox29 as well as Fox 5 and My9 in New York. Cablevision subscribers also lost access to the Fox Business Network, NatGeo Wild and Fox Deportes.
Cablevision says that News Corporation is asking for $80 million more a year for access to 12 Fox channels, which would more than double the yearly rate to $150 million. The company demands that Fox enter into binding arbitration.
Representatives from Fox claim that they’ve made several efforts to reach a proposal with the company however.
“As long as there is a serious effort on the part of Cablevision, we will be at the table,” said Fox spokesman Scott Grogin. “We want to settle this as quickly as possible.”
Both sides met throughout Saturday afternoon but failed to reach an agreement, leaving baseball fans who wanted to watch the game with nothing but a blank screen.
Negotiators plan to meet again on Sunday.
