Cablevision Systems Corp. on Monday asked the U.S. District Court in the
Southern District of New York to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit that the Yankees
Entertainment and Sports Network has filed against it.
"This blunderbuss case is unquestionably broader than YES is permitted to
bring under well-established antitrust standing and pleading requirements,"
Cablevision says in its petition to the court.
The cable operator is fighting with the independent programmer, run by former
AT&T Broadband chief Leo Hindery, because Cablevision is refusing to carry
the YES Network on an expanded basic tier at a cost to Cablevision of
approximately $2 per subscriber.
YES is the exclusive carrier of the New York Yankees in New York, and the
dispute has given many Yankees fans reason to switch from Cablevision to direct
broadcast-satellite service so they can see Yankees games.
"Our case is straightforward and Cablevision is trying to make it seem
complex and complicated," said YES in a statement. "This is not a surprising
tactic coming from the same people who asked for 660 days to handle the
gathering of facts prior to a trial."
Last week, YES held a press conference to complain that Cablevision has asked
the court for a discovery period of two years before any trial could
begin.
