Cablevision customers are angry that the company can’t come to an agreement with Fox. So angry, in fact, that they’ve filed a class-action lawsuit in a New York Federal Court.
Over three million customers have been affected by the Fox blackout after the network pulled their programming because of a disagreement over fees. But the tipping point for many seemed to be missing Wednesday evening’s broadcast of the World Series.
"It's got to stop. It's the third strike for them when I can't watch the game with my son," said 45-year-old Cablevision customer Salvatore Gandolfo, one of the plaintiffs taking the company to court.
The plaintiffs in the case are asking for $450 million in damages, the equivalent of approximately one month worth of Cablevision service for each customer affected, as well as an end to the blackout. They are accusing Cablevision of breaching customer agreements and engaging in deceptive, unfair, and fraudulent practices.
Cablevision has been quick to jump to its own defense and blame News Corp., the parent company of Fox, for the situation. "News Corp. is the company that deserves a lawsuit, for blacking out the World Series in three million New York-area homes. The FCC has all the facts and our customers are demanding that the FCC act to end the FOX blackout," a Cablevision representative told HollywoodReporter.com.
The class-action lawsuit is just another chapter in the ongoing saga between Fox and the cable provider. On Tuesday Fox sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cablevision accusing the company of making false claims and violating copyright laws by directing customers to watch Fox programming on the internet.
Wednesday, Fox rejected an offer from Cablevision to pay the same rate for programming in New York as rival cable provider Time Warner because the offer did not address Philadelphia operations.
And there is still no agreement between Fox and Dish network after their current contract expires at midnight on October 31st. If a blackout were to occur in this dispute, an additional 3 million customers would be affected.
It’s really unfortunate that it has come to legal blows between parties, but you can’t blame the customers for being hostile at the situation. Hopefully an agreement is reached soon for their sake.
