A high-stakes game of corporate chicken involving sports giants George Steinbrenner and Charles Dolan has jeopardized the broadcasting of Yankee games on cable television to millions of New York Yankee fans.
Fans who usually watch the Bombers through Cablevision have been told to install a satellite dish or miss out on watching Jason Giambi strut his stuff in Yankee games starting in 11 days.
The stare-down comes after months of difficult negotiations between the Yankees’ new cable channel, YES, and Dolan’s Cablevision.
YES chief executive Leo Hindery wants Cablevision to carry 130 Yankees games as part of its basic programming this season, and wants the cable company to pay YES around $2 per subscriber per month – a total bill of $72 million, according to one source.
But Cablevision bosses are adamant the deal is too expensive and argue the Yankees should be part of a premium programming tier so customers only pay extra if they choose to.
Hindery told The Post yesterday he was “nervous” that some Yankee fans would miss out on watching games – a scenario that he said would not sit well with Steinbrenner, who owns The Yankees and part of YES.
“If The Boss hears that kids in The Bronx aren’t going to get their Bombers, he might have my rear end – I don’t know,” Hindery said.
Cablevision has 2.9 million subscribers in the New York area, mainly on Long Island, but also in The Bronx, Westchester and other areas.
Hindery, who regards himself as a close pal of Cablevision chief executive James Dolan, took the extraordinary step of running advertisements in New York newspapers yesterday, telling fans to ditch Cablevision for satellite service DirecTV.
YES has completed deals with DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and RCN to carry the Yankee games as part of their basic programming.
But Hindery said yesterday fans who lived in multi-family buildings might have trouble installing dishes if the property owner objects.
Cablevision senior vice president Charles Schueler said the YES offer is too expensive.
“The advertisement is an obvious attempt to put pressure on Cablevision to accept an expensive deal that is not in the interests of our customers,” he said.
Sources said Cablevision had put a new offer to YES last week in a meeting between senior programmers.
Shops selling DirecTV dishes in New York reported only a flicker of interest from customers yesterday, but said demand would soar if a deal wasn’t done fast between Cablevision and YES.
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TALE OF THE TAPE
George Steinbrenner — Charles Dolan
Age: 71 — 75
Nickname: The Boss — Chuck
Star sign: Cancer — Libra
Power: Owner of New York Yankees — Chairman of Cablevision, which owns Knicks and Rangers
Biggest fan: Rudy Giuliani — Knick coach Don Chaney
Beef: Wants Yankees channel to get $2 a month for every fan who watches Cablevision — Wants a cheaper deal
Big structure where he gets lots of respect: Yankee Stadium — Madison Square Garden
Scantily clad women on the payroll: Hot-dog vendors in the summer — The Rockettes