With the curtain set to go up on the NBA and NHL season, MSG Network is alerting viewers that it is nearing a potential blackout on Comcast Xfinity cable systems in New Jersey and Connecticut. Comcast, though it is the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, has virtually no customers in New York City, but a healthy six-figure number of them in the suburbs are at risk of losing service.
Time Warner Cable and MSG have settled their long-running dispute, which means that the bulk of New York cable viewers will again get to watch Knicks games. The settlement came after increased pressure on the two sides thanks to an outbreak of Linsanity — the brilliant play of Knicks newcomer Jeremy Lin, who has electrified the city.
The biggest story in basketball — Jeremy Lin’s winning streak on the New York Knicks — is happening in New York City but about two million residents may be missing it due to a retransmission consent dispute between Time Warner Cable and MSG Network, which could result in sports fans dumping TWC subscriptions.
At the center of Time Warner Cable’s dispute with Madison Square Garden is the fate of Fuse music channel, which the Garden bundles with the MSG sports network.
