What's Going on With Cablevision?

One of the major talking points among local residents has been Cablevision's contract disputes with programming suppliers, and both parties' use of the press to involve innocent viewers in their dispute.

The new tactic in television contract negotiation appears to be to recruit the viewing public to call in, for one side or the other, when threatened with losing our favorite shows.

We experienced this tactic earlier this year during Cablevision's dispute with Scripps Network, supplier of the Food Network. Local viewers were bombarded with tirades from both sides of the dispute, via television and radio. Each claimed the other side was being greedy and inconsiderate of viewers needs or costs.

The dispute was eventually settled, and Food Network returned to the Cablevision roster.

Cablevision's most recent dispute was with Disney-ABC, which resulted in viewer panic over missing the Oscars this week. Although the dispute was resolved with minutes to spare, allowing Cablevision to air the Oscars, local viewers remain angry over the timing and the inconvenience it caused.

Melissa Jones, a Purchase resident, had visitors ready to watch the show.

"It was incredibly annoying. I came screaming home from the store with food and party supplies. We turned on the television to see the pre-show only to discover dead air and a message that the Oscars would not be screened because of the dispute. We had all built our evening around the Oscar presentation. Even though it was eventually resolved, I was very frustrated that Cablevision allowed this to happen."

The dispute affected millions of Cablevision viewers in the New York area.

Marianne Babiera said their family was looking for hotels that had alternative suppliers to Cablevision. When that proved not viable they decided to take advantage of Cablevision's offer of a free on-demand movie.

"We tried three different on-demand movies and got a message back on all of them saying the movies were unavailable," Babiera said. "Obviously, everyone was scrambling to find alternatives to the Oscars. In the end, our daughter went to stay with a friend who had FIOS."

Mayor Walsh said her office has received many calls from unhappy Cablevison customers, urging her to sign a contract with FIOS for Harrison.

Pam Rizzaro, a member of the Mayor's staff, provided an update on Harrison's negotiations with FIOS.

"We had a full agreement negotiated with FIOS some time ago, which would have provided Harrison residents with a choice of cable providers. After negotiations were complete with us and several other municipalities, FIOS decided to dispute the fact that they did not have the same contract terms as Cablevision in different areas– one of them being Harrison. They took the issue to Albany for resolution. Even when that issue is resolved, FIOS will deal with the municipalities already wired for FIOS first, leaving towns like Harrison, which are not wired for FIOS, until after those municipalities are online. Despite having an advocate calling frequently on our behalf, it appears that FIOS will not realistically be available to Harrison residents for several years."

Harrison residents may be stuck with Cablevison for the near future, but the company's manner of dealing with programming disputes still angers  local customers.

Babiera mirrors the frustration and distrust of some Cablevision viewers in the area.

"We're basically being held hostage to both sides in their disputes and, as viewers, our hands are tied. Each claim the other side is charging outrageous fees or conditions and you end up not knowing who to believe. My question is, why is this only happening to Cablevision? The bottom line is we pay our monthly cable fees and shouldn't have to deal with it at all."

Cablevision did not immediately return a request for comment on this story.