Ahead of Opening Day, Blumenthal and Murphy Urge Comcast, YES Network to Resolve Dispute, Ensure Yankees Games Are Not Blacked Out

(Hartford, CT) – Ahead of Major League Baseball Opening Day, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) today wrote to Comcast and YES Network, urging the parties to quickly resolve a dispute that threatens Connecticut Comcast customers’ ability to view Yankees games. Since last November, 83 Connecticut communities serviced by Comcast have been without YES Network because of a dispute over subscription fees. In their letter, the Senators urged Comcast and YES to either find a solution that ensures all Yankees games are carried, or, in the case that a long-term solution cannot be reached by Opening Day, for YES Network to work out a temporary solution for Yankees fans and for Comcast to refund all of its subscribers a portion of their monthly bill commensurate with YES Network’s value.

The Senators wrote: “For almost a century, federal, state, and local governments have helped sustain and promote professional sports by providing direct and indirect public benefits – including tax exemptions, public transportation infrastructure to stadiums, and exemptions from federal antitrust law. Sports programming, which has been protected and promoted by government intervention, should not be used as a weapon to negotiate who has a bigger claim to consumers’ pocketbooks. YES Network has a responsibility to be responsive to the interests of the Yankees fans it serves. Fans should be able watch the games they have helped pay for. We urge YES Network to commit to finding a way to return programming in time for Opening Day.”

The full text of the Senators’ letter to Comcast and YES Network is below, and a pdf copy is available for download here.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Dolgin:

As Opening Day for the Yankees fast approaches, we write urging your companies to resolve differences which have resulted in the months-long blackout of YES programming for Comcast customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

While we respect the private negotiations being conducted by Comcast and YES Network and make no representations as to the merits of either side’s position, we believe that the current impasse does a disservice to Yankees fans and we urge both your companies to negotiate in good faith to bring an end to this blackout.

As we all know, baseball is America’s pastime and Major League Baseball represents a rich and vibrant part of our national culture. This heritage lives on, in large part, due to sports programming made possible because of significant public support. For almost a century, federal, state, and local governments have helped sustain and promote professional sports by providing direct and indirect public benefits – including tax exemptions, public transportation infrastructure to stadiums, and exemptions from federal antitrust law. Sports programming, which has been protected and promoted by government intervention, should not be used as a weapon to negotiate who has a bigger claim to consumers’ pocketbooks. YES Network has a responsibility to be responsive to the interests of the Yankees fans it serves. Fans should be able watch the games they have helped pay for. We urge YES Network to commit to finding a way to return programming in time for Opening Day.

At the same time, it is unfair for Comcast subscribers, who have paid their monthly bills, to be treated like a bargaining chip in this dispute. If no long-term agreement is possible by Opening Day, we urge Comcast to work out a temporary solution so Yankees fans are not shut out from viewing their favorite team. We also urge that Comcast commit to refund all of its subscribers, who are no longer getting what they signed up for, a portion of their monthly bill commensurate with YES Network’s value.

While we understand there are many reasons that lead to programming blackouts, and that each negotiation is unique, we believe blackouts are harmful for consumers. Whether they are a result of a contract dispute, or some other disagreement, blackouts only serve to put the consumer in the middle of a dispute between two businesses. Both your companies must do better by their customers by negotiating a resolution to this impasse so that Yankee fans do not risk missing the nation-wide celebration that is Opening Day.

Sincerely,

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