A survey of 1,400 Long Island and Queens, NY, residents
"found that the overwhelming majority ... believe they
aren't getting their money's worth" from local cable
providers Cablevision or Time Warner Cable, according to an
in-depth feature by NEWSDAY's Fresco & Berkowitz. But the
survey showed that the same residents were satisfied by
Cablevision's service and the selection of channels they're
offered. NEWSDAY's survey found that 38.6% of cable
subscribers on Long Island pay extra for sports channels,
and in a sidebar, Fresco & Berkowitz add that the Long
Island cable prices "soar way beyond what cable subscribers
in nearly every other major system pay for a package that
includes a regional sports channel such as Fox Sports New
York." In the Glen Cove area, Cablevision subscribers pay
an extra $13.60 per month for FSNY or MSG Network, "which on
top of the price for the standard 'family' tier means a bill
topping $47.50, or 73 cents per channel, for 65 channels."
DETAILS: NEWSDAY's survey of eight of the U.S.'s top
cable companies in 20 areas across the country "found only
one other" system that does not include at least one RSN in
"its standard package." Time Warner in Houston adds $2.55
for an additional six channels, which includes FSSW, to its
$34.20 standard package, bringing its total price to $36.75,
or 55 cents per channel, "still way below the Cablevision
price for Long Island." Cablevision and Century
Communications were the only two "major" companies not to
provide specific rates. Cablevision execs maintain that it
would be "unfair to non-sports fans to spread" the cost of
RSNs to all subscribers, and Cablevision Chair Charles Dolan
said he "favors even more of an a la carte approach."
Dolan: "Every survey we take tells us that half of the homes
in our area have no interest in sports. But yet, every home
has to buy ESPN and pay for it" (NEWSDAY, 3/23).
