Cablevision Refuses to Broadcast Message from Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to Fellow New Yorkers

Business Wire, March 22, 2005

NEW YORK -- New York City Leaders Express Outrage Over Cablevision's Refusal to Broadcast Ads Concerning New York Sports and Convention Center and Olympic Stadium

Cablevision has refused to broadcast a message to New Yorkers from former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani that supports a potential competitor to Cablevision. The ad, called "I love New York," first premiered on Sunday night's episode of WNBC's Law and Order. It features former Mayor Giuliani endorsing the creation of a new sports and convention center in Manhattan that would also double as an Olympic Stadium should the United States host the 2012 games. Cablevision is spending millions to fight the facility because it fears competition with its own Madison Square Garden. Although Time Warner cable is broadcasting the commercial in Manhattan and other parts of New York City, Cablevision has refused to run the commercial during news broadcasts on its own system -- including Fox, CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC -- leaving residents of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Long Island cut off.

"I love New York," begins the commercial.

"The Sports and Convention Center goes to creating jobs. A city that continues to grow, that continues to build, is a city that can put teachers and firefighters and police officers -- tens of thousands of New Yorkers -- to work," says Guiliani.

"More than just a stadium: This is a tremendous opportunity that shouldn't be missed," he concludes.

New York Jets President Jay Cross said, "It is unfortunate that Cablevision continues to abuse its monopoly power over cable services to prevent viewers in areas it controls from hearing the facts about the New York Sports and Convention Center."

Cablevision's most recent actions further support the allegations in a lawsuit the Jets filed against them on March 16, 2005 for unlawful and anticompetitive actions in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The suit alleges that Cablevision illegally leveraged its monopoly power in the market for cable services in the Bronx, Brooklyn and other areas of New York to block the Jets from communicating to consumers important information about the Jets' organization's efforts to establish the New York Sports and Convention Center as a new competitor in Cablevision's other monopolized markets -- the Manhattan market for enclosed large scale spectator facilities and suites. The suit alleges that Cablevision has refused to air Jets' ads concerning the Sports and Convention Center and has unlawfully pressured other media outlets into suppressing those ads in an effort to shut the Jets out of the Manhattan facility and suites markets that Cablevision monopolizes.

In reaction to the antitrust lawsuit, public officials issued the following statements last week:

"Cablevision's continued actions remain against the best interest of New York," said U.S. Congressman Gregory W. Meeks. "The company continues to use its enormous market power and resources to silence the real facts about the NYSCC. Meanwhile, my constituents and cable customers in New York are the latest victims of Cablevision's continued self-interest policies."

Bronx Assemblymember Michael Benjamin said, "If Cablevision is allowed to censor groups or political figures that they disagree with, then the free speech rights of elected officials and others will be threatened."

Senator Marty Golden said, "It is outrageous that Cablevision would refuse to air a commercial featuring our former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. This is not about politics. This is about a monopoly that will stop at nothing to protect its own interests while denying our citizens from the truth about a project that has earned the support of more than 70 elected officials."

Bronx Assemblymember Ruben Diaz said, "Whether or not you support the New York Sports and Convention Center is not the issue. For Cablevision to deny advertisements that are critical of their company sets a dangerous precedent. That is a huge amount of authority for one company to possess. Today it is the New York Jets. Tomorrow it could very well be a community based organization or individual."

To view the commercial, click on this link: http://www.jetsfightback.com.

About the NYSCC

The NYSCC will be a multi-purpose sports, entertainment and convention facility over the West Side Rail Yard, an eyesore on Manhattan's long-neglected Far West Side. The NYSCC will bring thousands of jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenues, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity and development to New York.

For 10 days a year, the NYSCC will host the Jets in a 75,000-seat stadium, the Jets' first home field in their 50-year history. However, because the NYSCC will have, among other things, a retractable roof and a removable field, for the other 355 days a year, it will be available to host such major events as the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, professional soccer, headliner concert tours and national conventions. The NYSCC is also a cornerstone of New York City's bid to host the 2012 Olympics.