Time Warner customers, let the Linsanity begin.
The stalemate between Cablevision, which owns the MSG Network, and Time Warner Cable is over, according to the New York Times’s Richard Sandomir. Sandomir reports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman both intervened.
Time Warner customers had been without MSG and MSG+ since Jan. 1. That meant they could not watch the New York Knicks — including new sensation Jeremy Lin — or the New York Rangers, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Now, it’s game on. Time Warner has said they will carry tonight’s Knicks game versus the Hornets.
The dispute originated over Time Warner dropping Fuse, a music channel, from their lineup. Fuse, owned by Cablevision, withheld MSG in order to force Time Warner to the bargaining table. But in the end, it was probably Lin who got the deal done.
As the Knicks struggled through a miserably disappointing season and the New York Giants captivated the city’s sporting attention, the MSG blackout was largely ignored. But with the football season over and the explosion of Linsanity the deal has finally gotten done.
As of Friday afternoon, the network had yet to be returned to Time Warner customers. NBA Network, which Time Warner had substituted in place of MSG, was still airing.
New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg said yesterday he did not believe government should get involved in the dispute, although City Council Speaker Chris Quinn had reportedly sent a letter to MSG trying to convince the two sides to work out the disagreement.
