Yanks Fans Shut Out in Cable Flap

There are 25 televisions at Rockwell’s American Restaurant, every one of them devoted to sports, but Derek Jeter’s first home run of the spring was nowhere to be seen.

Like 3 million other households and businesses in the New York metropolitan area, Rockwell’s is a Cablevision customer. And Cablevision, so far, is refusing to carry YES, the Yankees’ new cable network, and the 130 games it will show this season.

The pricing dispute threatens to leave a large portion of the metro area with just a handful of televised, regular-season Yankee games. Twenty will be carried on WCBS-TV, along with whatever Yankee games show up as national games of the week.

“That’s not enough for me,” said Pete Falzerano of White Plains, a 42-year-old retail business manager who says he’s “about 9 1/2 on a scale of 10 as a Yankee fan.”

Both sides say a settlement is still possible, but no bargaining is scheduled with Opening Day barely a week away. YES has reached agreements with the region’s other major cable providers.

The dispute centers on which Cablevision customers would pay for YES, and how much.

YES, seeking to maximize its audience, is insisting Cablevision make it a basic channel, included in the basic price for all cable homes.

“There are 27 regional sports networks in the United States and they’re all on basic, even the ones that Cablevison owns,” said YES Chairman Leo Hindery. He said YES would charge Cablevision $1.85 monthly for each subscriber.

Cablevision wants to put YES on a “premium tier,” available only to those who pay extra, although it hasn’t said how much.

“It’s very expensive programming,” said Cablevision spokesman Charles Schueler. “Given the cost, we believe our customers should have the opportunity to decide whether to purchase the games.”