Sports fans in Cablevision Systems territory will strike out for the second time with the National League Championship Series, as negotiations between the Bethpage, N.Y.-based MSO and Fox networks continued their stalemate.
In a statement at 3:40 p.m., Fox Networks said that negotiations ended Sunday with no deal in sight. A third day of negotiations began today at 12:30 p.m.
"The parties had several discussions again today but no material progress was made and we continue to remain far apart," Fox said in a statement. "However, both sides agreed to continue talking tomorrow."
In a statement, Cablevision again called for binding arbitration to end the dispute.
"The longer this shameful News Corp. blackout of the NFL and Major League Baseball continues, the more obvious it becomes to everyone, including political leaders of both parties, that binding arbitration is the fastest and fairest way to return Fox programming to Cablevision
customers."
That means that Cablevision sports fans will miss the second game of the NLCS - which pits the San Francisco Giants against the Philadelphia Phillies - after being shut out of the first game of the series Saturday.
Sunday is shaping up to be a dismal sports day for about 3 million customers in the New York metropolitan area. Earlier in the day Cablevision subscribers missed the National Football League contest between the New York Giants and Detroit Lions, as well as Fox's national doubleheader game, the high-profile matchup between Brett Favre's Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys.
Fox pulled its broadcast stations - WYNY and WWOR in New York and WTXF in Philadelphia - and cable channels Fox Deportes, NatGeo Wild and Fox Business Network at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 16 after it could not reach a carriage agreement with the MSO.
Cablevision customers in Connecticut aren't part of the blackout -- they can get Fox programming on Channel 61, the Tribune-owned Fox affiliate.
