CABLEVISION, FOX TAKE THEIR DISPUTE PUBLIC

As the dispute between Fox TV and Cablevision over retransmission consent fees headed into its 13th day of stalemate, there were these new developments: Cablevision, which serves some three million homes mostly around New York City, informed its subscribers via email that it would reimburse them $10.00 for the $9.95 fee that MLB.com charges to watch the Series over the Internet. The email included an “Order Now!” link to MLB.com. Cablevision on Wednesday also offered to pay Fox the same fee that it pays Time Warner Cable, which services mostly the Manhattan area, to carry Fox-TV for one year. Fox rejected that deal, saying that it offered Time Warner a discounted price as part of a package of additional channels that Fox owns. “We have told Cablevision all along we are willing to negotiate a deal based on an entire suite of channels under the terms we have reached with Time Warner Cable,” it said. Following Fox’s rejection, Cablevision called on the FCC to order Fox to restore its signal to its subscribers and submit to binding arbitration.