Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is “seeking a subscriber surcharge on behalf” of the 25-year, $2.5B TV rights deal it negotiated with the Phillies in January, according to Bob Fernandez of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Sources said that the RSN is “asking pay-TV operators, including Comcast itself, to pay for those additional games on cable.” CSN Philadelphia has “warned that it would black out 33 Phillies games on the TV systems that decline to pay.” Comcast Cable has “agreed to the extra charges.” Verizon spokesperson Lee Giercyncki said the company’s FiOS service "has not yet reached an agreement.” CSN Philadelphia “confirmed the surcharge but declined to specify the amount.” With the new contract, Comcast “brings all the regionally televised Phillies games under its corporate umbrella” on the RSN or WCAU-NBC. There will be “at least" 133 games on CSN Philadelphia, and 12 or 13 on WCAU-NBC. A report on sports programming costs from J.P. Morgan released yesterday listed CSN Philadelphia as “the nation's sixth-most-expensive” RSN, “costing cable companies $3.90 a month per subscriber.” MSG Network at $5.44 per month “tops the list” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/26).
