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03/14/2016 04:23 PMPress Release March 14, 2016: Less than a month before Opening Day, Connecticut Yankees fans are without a way to watch their favorite team on TV. A bipartisan group of more than 30 members of the Connecticut General Assembly today called on Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and YES Network CEO Tracy Dolgin to put aside their differences and negotiate a new contact before the start of the Major League Baseball season on April 4, which will allow Connecticut Comcast customers access to the YES Network which broadcasts New York Yankees baseball games.
"We're calling on these CEO's to do the right thing and 'play ball' with each other so that hundreds of thousands of Connecticut Yankees fans are able to watch the 2016 season when it begins less than one month from now," said state Rep. Sean Scanlon (D) of District 98 (Guilford & Pine Orchard/Stony Creek, Branford) who authored the letter.
The Yankees are Connecticut's most popular baseball team and with Comcast claiming viewership is low despite evidence to the contrary and YES telling fans to simply switch cable providers, it is clear these two companies are far from an agreement. Unfortunately, time is running out and it's time for them to get serious about resolving this corporate squabble so that the hard-working men and women of Connecticut can watch one of the networks they signed up for."
The current impasse between Comcast and YES began in November shortly after the 2015 season ended when Comcast removed YES from their channel lineup citing low viewership. However, according to Nielsen's ratings, there was an 18 percent increase in viewership of Yankees games on YES between the All Star Game and and the end of the season in 2015 as the team made a postseason push. As a result of this dispute, an estimated 900,000 customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are impacted.
According to a March 2015 Quinnipiac University poll, the Yankees are Connecticut's most popular Major League Baseball team with support from 44 percent of baseball fans compared to 37 percent for the Boston Red Sox and 6 percent for the New York Mets.
Content of Rep. Scanlon's Letter:
March 10, 2016
Mr. Brian Roberts
Mr. Tracy Dolgin
Chairman and CEO President and CEO
Comcast Corporation YES Network
1701 JFK Boulevard 805 Third Avenue, 30th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103 New York, NY 10022
Dear Mr. Roberts and Mr. Dolgin:
With the start of the 2016 Major League Baseball season less than one month away, we are writing to you both on behalf of our constituents to respectfully urge you to resolve the current impasse that will soon leave Comcast customers who are also New York Yankees fans without a way to watch their favorite team play America's national pastime.
As you know, 900,000 Comcast customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania lost access to the YES Network last November. While Comcast has publicly claimed that declining viewership of the network justifies eliminating the YES Network, communication from our concerned constituents says otherwise. The Yankees have the largest Connecticut fan base of any Major League Baseball team in a crowded corridor between New York and Boston with 44 percent of our state's residents supporting the team according to a 2015 Quinnipiac University poll.
Hundreds of thousands of our constituents rightfully expect to have the ability to watch Opening Day from the comfort of their homes on April 4, 2016 and we hope you will put aside your respective differences between now and then to ensure Connecticut's Yankees fans – including all of boys and girls who are just learning to love the game – are not denied access to the 2016 season.
Thank you for your consideration of our request and the wishes of our constituents (and your customers).
Sincerely,
Rep. Sean Scanlon, 98th Assembly District
Rep. James Albis, 99th Assembly District
Rep. Themis Klarides, 114th Assembly District and House Minority Leader
Rep. Emmett Riley, 46th Assembly District
Rep. Matthew Lesser, 100th Assembly District
Rep. Christopher Rosario, 128th Assembly District
Rep. David Arconti, 109th Assembly District
Rep. David Baram, 15th Assembly District
Rep. Lou Esposito, 116th Assembly District
Rep. Linda Gentile, 104th Assembly District
Rep. Lonnie Reed, 102nd Assembly District and Energy & Technology Committee Chair
Rep. Devin Carney, 23rd Assembly District
Sen. Cathy Osten, 19th Senatorial District
Rep. Vincent Candelora, 86th Assembly District
Rep. Aundre Bumgardner, 41st Assembly District
Rep. Diana Urban, 43rd Assembly District
Sen. Art Linares, 33rd Senatorial District
Rep. Stephen Harding, 107th Assembly District
Rep. Bob Godfrey, 110th Assembly District
Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, 106th Assembly District
Sen. Joseph Crisco, 17th Senatorial District
Rep. Noreen Kokoruda, 101st Assembly District
Rep. Edwin Vargas, 6th Assembly District
Rep. Linda Orange, 48th Assembly District
Rep. David Yaccarino, 87th District
Rep. Pam Staneski, 119th District
Rep. Robert Sanchez, 25th Assembly District
Sen. John Kissel, 7th Senatorial District
Sen. Michael McLachlan, 24th Senatorial District
Rep. Theresa Conroy, 105th Assembly District
Rep. Joe Serra, 33rd Assembly District
Rep. Gayle Mulligan, 55th Assembly District