Analyst Offers Thoughts On Sports Impact Of Cablevision News

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

What does the Dolans' failure to take Cablevision private mean for sports? Research analyst Rich Greenfield from Pali floats a couple of ideas, including the family buying a stake in YES Network. "CVC could need to spend upwards of $1.0-1.5B to buy equity in the YES Network," said Greenfield, "But it remains unclear whether the stake is actually for sale, whether CVC is actually a potential buyer and whether CVC could outbid Time Warner/Time Warner Cable.  This would probably be viewed negatively for CVC, albeit the odds of a transaction in the near-future appear slim." Greenfield added the news could provide more clarity to the MSG situation. "Based on the city’s current proposal (announced yesterday), it appears CVC would be compensated for a portion of its air rights above the current MSG site as well as receiving approval to build a new MSG across the street. This could potentially create significant value for CVC shareholders that is not reflected in the stock today."