Fall Of The Empire: Adelphia To Shut Down Sports Network

Adelphia Communications’ Empire Sports Network (ESN) will cease operations as of March 7, due to continuing financial losses. NFL Network will replace ESN and subject to bankruptcy court approval, Sabres games will be aired on MSG Network (Adelphia). Rick Maloney of BUFFALO BUSINESS FIRST reported “the end of [ESN] will mean a loss of 36 remaining jobs. A half dozen workers will stay on as taped programs and some other contractual obligations for live events are broadcast until the station goes dark.” Adelphia Regional VP Tom Haywood: “Economically it just does not make sense any more for us to keep it at the status quo. We’ve looked at several alternatives to turn it around but we did not find anything that makes sense.” Haywood said the decision made over a year ago by other New York State cable companies, including Time Warner, to remove ESN from its basic programming lineup and place the net on a pay tier was “one significant reason for the network going out of business.” Maloney noted that the net, like parent company Adelphia, has “been up for sale but Haywood did not comment on any prospective offers” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/19).