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 espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2
 ·Clear Wireless
1 edit | Trifecta Sports teams
NY Knicks (NBA) owned by Dolan family
NY Rangers (NHL) owned by Dolan family
Cable network
Cablevision owned by Dolan family
Broadcast networks
All Rainbow Media networks (AMC / IFC / etc) owned by CableVision
MSG / MSG+ owned by CableVision
CableVision licenses MSG / MSG+ HD feeds to cable companies outside of CV's service footprint only. DirecTV is the only competitor to get access to this network; the terms of that deal have never been made public (that I am aware of).
The NY DMA is absolutely massive, as is the fan base for NY sports teams. It would be one thing for the Dolans to lock this up if they operated a purely private enterprise, but they have secured millions in public funding to support their teams (ie, facility upgrades) -- and own a facility that has special exemption status from property taxes! The Dolans take these teams that they own, take public funding for the teams, and make the broadcasts of the games only available in HD on the network they own.
Say what you will about the anti-competitive things ATT and Verizon do, but you can't deny this situation with MSG-HD is pretty damn bold. | |
|  iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: Trifecta Bold, but if Verizon wanted 'em bad enough they'd either pony up or buy the teams/stations. If people want MSG/MSG+ they always either cable cable or sat an an option. | |
| | espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Clear Wireless
| Re: Trifecta said by iansltx:Bold, but if Verizon wanted 'em bad enough they'd either pony up or buy the teams/stations. If people want MSG/MSG+ they always either cable cable or sat an an option. More specifically, DirecTV is the only satellite company that has been allowed to carry the channel. Not Dish, nor any company on C-Band sats has been able to negotiate license to carry the HD feeds. This isn't like Sunday Ticket or MLB Extra Innings which are out of market sports packages. This is about residents getting access to watch the games of the team their tax dollars go to support.
The cable systems you can get the channel from don't compete with each other. CableVision sells access to the channel to TWC and Comcast in the region because their service footprints don't overlap.
Again, if this were a privately funded venture it would be different, but the sports teams that have games on the MSG networks are largely supported by taxpayer dollars. Using public money to support the teams, and then having the team's owners turn around and only allow the games to be watched if the residents of NY subscribe to the owner's cable network is just wrong. | |
| | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: Trifecta So which part is taxpayer-funded? The fact that the arena doesn't have to pay property tax? Anything else? | |
| | | | | Wrong? Law protects Cablevision all the way to the Courts on this.
ATT and VZ are in the wrong for demanding it and asking the FCC to over turn the law.
Cablevision will take the issue to court none the less. | |
| | | | espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Clear Wireless
| Re: Trifecta said by hottboiinnc:Wrong? Law protects Cablevision all the way to the Courts on this. If they maintained it local to just their cable system, maybe. That's not what they're doing though -- they're selling the channel to any company who doesn't compete in their service footprint.
If they were just operating just within the state of NY they might be able to hide behind state law, but MSG also holds broadcast contracts for teams like the New Jersey Devils and sells channel access to TWC in NJ. Since the transactions cross state lines, federal laws (read: anti-trust) apply. | |
| | | | | Reviews:
 ·WOW Internet and..
| Re: Trifecta no anti-trust doesn't apply.
Terrestrial law applies. NOBODY can prove that Cablevision sends that feed to the birds. Which would mean the proof is on ATT and VZ.
But also nobody knows that they don't use fiber and only maintain it to their headend (DirecTV) | |
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| | | | said by espaeth: This is about residents getting access to watch the games of the team their tax dollars go to support.
The article you linked said: "The Garden first got its tax break from the state Legislature by threatening to move the Knicks and Rangers to New Jersey. At the time, one Republican pol called it "welfare for the rich." " So end the tax break, and NY shoots itself in the foot. Some are looking at the tax revenue, but ignoring the stimulus that it brings to local businesses, not to mention the franchise fee collected from cable companies. NYC is already bleeding businesses thanks to the high taxes they have to pay. Why drive out one of the big draws to NYC? Anyway it's not like the NYC Government is known for common sense decisions... Yes, they are taxpayer supported, but for a very good reason. MSG is a NYC landmark. The paltry break they get in property taxes is nothing compared to what the city gets back from tourist and fan dollars. quote:
The cable systems you can get the channel from don't compete with each other. CableVision sells access to the channel to TWC and Comcast in the region because their service footprints don't overlap.[/quote
You can get MSG, just not MSG HD.
If you want MSG HD, get cable. | |
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|  jmn1207Premium
join:2000-07-19
Ashburn, VA | said by iansltx:Bold, but if Verizon wanted 'em bad enough they'd either pony up or buy the teams/stations. If people want MSG/MSG+ they always either cable cable or sat an an option. And now we come to the major difference between this situation and an iPhone or NFL Sunday Ticket. The Dolan's don't need any more money. They can buy everything they want 10 times over.
No matter how much money is offered, they simply, refuse to negotiate. There has to be a seller in order to purchase something. This seems more like a personal issue between some rich, powerful elitists. It's become a Visa "priceless" moment, and no amount of money will be enough to get MSG HD broadcast rights to the telcos. | |
| | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Comcast
| Re: Trifecta Would be interesting to find out what CV has to say about this, whether they're *actually* not allowing the network to be sold on TelcoTV or Dish.
Or whether it's simply because they're trying to charge an outrageous price like $10 per channel. | |
| | | |
1 edit | Re: Trifecta It's quite simple. CVC wants to keep its competitive advantage over "phone company TV."
Verizon gains subscribers by offering a higher bandwidth network, CVC retains and gains subscribers by offering exclusive content.
I don't see why the FCC has to force CVC to give up its competitive advantage, especially when Verizon isn't mandated to share the fiber lines with everyone, or deploy FiOS everywhere. | |
| | | | | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | Re: Trifecta Exactly. Besides, is anyone gonna die/be negatively impacted if they can't watch sports on TV?
Why not go against grandstand meal pricing instead? Oh wait, that isn't depriving anyone of profit... | |
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