My stepfather is upset. You see, he is a NY Rangers fan. Normally, when I see a Rangers fan in misery, I'm a happy guy (It's part of being an Islanders fan), but this time around, I am pissed. Why? Because the people that are making him miserable are the owners of the NY Rangers, Cablevision, and specifically the Dolan family.
Here is some backstory. The Dolan family owns both the New York Rangers and Cablevision (they may also own the Knicks, but basketball isn't a sport, and the Knicks aren't really a team). Cablevision is one of two cable provider in New York City; however, they do not compete with each other, as the city got divided up between the two, in pretty much the same way the five mafia families divided the city. Cablevision got the Bronx, much of, if not all of, Manhattan, and most of Brooklyn. Time Warner got Staten Island and Bay Ridge (a small part of Brooklyn, the pathetic part where we keep all of the cops that still actually live in the city that pays them - don't get me started). I don't know who got Queens, but then again I don't really care about Queens (Queens is what I go through in order to get somewhere worth while).
After having to deal with Cablevision whine and complain (on over the air broadcasts, no less) that because of greedy content providers (News Corp, Disney, Viacom, & GE, each at various times), we, their valued customers, would lose access to their content, including local broadcast content, what has Cablevision done? They pulled the MSG network (oh, did I forget to mention that the Dolans also own Madison Square Garden?) from Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York City! There is a word for this. Hypocrite, though accurate, is not strong enough, but DOUCHEBAG is.
First, how the City of New York allows a monopoly that they granted to own a channel that they can then leverage against the residents who are subscribed to a competitor whom they had no choosing of (in NYC, your choice is between Verizon - a telco that is just as bad, if not worse, as Cablevision - and a cable company, which ever one services the area that you live in) is beyond me.
Second, does the FCC get paid? If so, why? If this situation is not reason enough to go back to the media ownership regulations that were previously in place, I don't know what is. I don't need the FCC to protect me from Howard Stern. I need the FCC to protect me from Cablevision.
Third, to all of my stepfather's friends and co-workers who say, "Just go to Verizon FIOS," what the fuck is wrong with you? Why should the decision as to who my mother's cable and internet provider is be made by Cablevision? Maybe my mother and stepfather don't want to switch to Verizon FIOS. The level of idiocy that a person needs to possess in order to make that statement makes me wonder why New York State allows them to carry a gun. It is these morons that allow corporate amerikkka to continue to buy greater rights for themselves at the expense of those for whom rights were intended. Let's just hope I don't end up in a state court.
Normally, I would end with three points, but I actually have a fourth point. Where the fuck is the NHL on this? The NHL has a rule that forbids the ownership of an NHL team in one market and a team in another professional league in another market if an NHL team exists in that market, which is the reason why Howard Milstein sold his stake in the NY Islanders to buy a stake on the Washington Redskins (damn Capitals). How is it that the NHL can allow Cablevision to blackout, within New York City, Rangers games. If Time Warner is in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Cablevision is also blacking out Islanders games. But that is not all. As the New Jersey Devils are also broadcast on the MSG network, Time Warner customers that are fans of any of these teams are fucked, thanks to Cablevision. Hey commissioner Bettman, do you have any comment on this? I sat through a season of Islanders games not being broadcast live, because Cablevision got to choose which games it would broadcast, and it always seemed to be the Islanders who were the odd man out, yet the Rangers games always got aired. How about some ownership regulation, when media ownership or delivery is involved?
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