With the clock counting down to the start of the World Series, News Corp. rejected Cablevision’s latest offer to end their dispute over fees for Fox stations, calling it “yet another in a long line of publicity stunts.”
Just hours earlier the Bethpage-based cable company said it would pay the same rate that News Corp. charges Time Warner Cable to carry Fox stations in New York and Philadelphia for a year.
But News Corp. said the proposal isn’t fair because Cablevision is asking for a “discounted” package rate without wanting to take the other cable channels that are part of Time Warner Cable’s deal.
“Cablevision is seeking a discounted ‘package rate’ without buying the entire package,” Fox said in a statement.
“We have told Cablevision all along we are willing to negotiate a deal – based on an entire suite of channels – under the terms we have reached with Time Warner Cable and other providers, or a stand alone agreement for WNYW FOX5, WTXF FOX29 and WWOR My9.”
Cablevision said News Corp., which owns Fox and The Post, was operating in “bad faith” and again called for the FCC to intervene to resolve the argument.
“It is now clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that News Corp. is operating in bad faith,” Cablevision said in a statement. “We call on the FCC to intervene immediately to restore the Fox signals to Cablevision’s 3 million homes and order News Corp. to agree to binding arbitration to resolve this conflict.”
The two companies have been locked in a dispute that has deprived Cablevision’s 3 million customers of Major League Baseball games and shows like “Glee.”