Fox rejects arbitration with Cablevision
New York Giants Chris Canty prepares to sack Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in the first quarter. (Oct. 3, 2010) Credit: David Pokress
News Corp. late Thursday rejected a Cablevision offer to take their dispute to arbitration, potentially setting the stage for the station owner to pull WNYW/5 and WWOR/9 off of the cable system after midnight Friday night.
A Cablevision spokesman said in a statement Thursday that "binding arbitration may be the best and fairest way to resolve this matter."
News Corp., parent company of the Fox network, is seeking retransmission fees from the cable operator for both broadcast stations. The company responded in a statement Thursday that "binding arbitration would, unfortunately, reward Cablevision for refusing to negotiate fairly and will only ensure that more unnecessary disputes arise in the future."
On Wednesday, Reps. Peter King (R-Seaford) and Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) both called for arbitration. In a phone interview Thursday, Israel said, "We can't keep playing this brinkmanship because the hostages are my constituents. If neither party is willing to act [and] the FCC is unwilling to regulate binding arbitration, then Congress should step in." Israel serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which provides funding to the Federal Communications Commission, which is currently exploring making a rule regarding arbitration in such disputes.
Both sides vowed to continue talking. Charles Schueler, Cablevision's executive vice president of communications, said in a statement, "We will work around the clock to reach a new agreement and have appealed to News Corp. not to pull the plug on Fox 5 and My9."
In a statement, Fox said, "We continue to negotiate and are committed to putting all our resources towards reaching a fair resolution."
Meanwhile, Israel waded deeper into the fight Thursday, assembling jersey-wearing Giants football fans at a Plainview sports bar.
"The clock is ticking," Israel said at the Main Event bar-restaurant, repeating his call for binding arbitration.
Gesturing to the bartenders, waiters and other restaurant staff, Israel said the dispute imperils small businesses that rely on sports games such as Sunday's Giants-Detroit Lions contest, which airs on Fox, for foot traffic. "This small business needs the Giants game on," he said.
Cablevision owns Newsday.
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