Sports Fans Coalition criticized News Corp.’s decision
Saturday to take down its signal from Cablevision. More than 3 million
customers in New York and Philadelphia will lose access to Game 1
between the Phillies and the Giants, and Sunday’s NFL and NASCAR
broadcasts. Sports Fans Coalition called on News Corp. CEO Rupert
Murdoch to return its sports programming immediately and resolve its
differences with Cablevision and DISH Network behind closed doors.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Murdoch has chosen to again engage in
the outrageous practice of using sports coverage as leverage in contract
disputes,” SFC Executive Director Brian Frederick said Saturday.
“While
both sides share blame for this mess, it is clear that Mr. Murdoch
using the unique nature of sports programming — live coverage and
passionate fan bases — as a negotiating tool. But sports are too
important to play games with.”
Sports Fans Coalition-New York chapter chair Scott Murdoch said:
“The timing couldn’t be worse for Philadelphia and New York sports fans.
Fans in both cities are captivated by post-season baseball and the NFL
season is just heating up. When billionaires fight, sports fans always
lose.”
Sports Fans Coalition opposes blackouts of any kind and has previously criticized News Corp for its treatment of sports as a negotiating tool and has done the same with Cablevision. SFC has also criticized
the blackout rule, which hurts local broadcasters. SFC has previously
met with FCC commissioners and written to the commission on behalf of
sports fans regarding retransmission rules as they relate to sports
coverage.
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PRESS RELEASE: Oct. 16, 2010
