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NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the chairman of the NFL Network committee, was at City Hall on Wednesday to support legislation intended to make it difficult for cable television companies to keep programming off basic services.
The proposal made by City Councilman Tony Avella would require cable TV operators that can't reach agreements with channels seeking system access to submit to arbitration, preventing a recurrence of the 2002 dispute that kept an entire season of New York Yankees games off one cable system.
Avella's plan would require approval from the full City Council and the mayor.
"He's trying to level the playing field," Jones said. "We're very much for that."
"Right now, the situations with Cablevision and Time Warner ... they are resisting access to independent networks," Avella said. "This is a monopoly that needs to be addressed."
The cable companies argue that the NFL Network's cost to customers is the result of what it costs them to carry the channel.
The president of the Cable Telecommunications Association of New York Inc., a trade association that represents Time Warner and Cablevision, called the proposal an "attempt to impose a government mandate."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones supports NYC councilman's plan - USATODAY.com