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CT Mets Fans vs. Cox Cable
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New York Mets fans who have the misfortune of being
Cox Cable subscribers are tired of being treated like second class citizens.
For years we've had to miss Mets games, all the while having the New York
Yankees and Boston Red Sox forced down our collective throats (taking money out
of OUR pockets in the process).
I for am tired of the flat out "discrimination" against our beloved Mets
perpetrated by this monopoly and I am not going to bite my tounge any longer.
Obviously, I have tried contacting Cox to express my displeasure and this
is the response I (and others) have received (lovely!):
We have received your recent email regarding SportsNet NY. According to our
information, there is no deal in place to carry SNY. Please be advised that we
will consider this channel as a potential when making additions to our channel
line up. We have sent a "channel request" for "SNY" to our New England
Programming Manager, on your behalf. We value your thoughts and ideas and thank
you for taking your time to write to us.
We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.
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The Charges
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The New York Mets FINALLY have their own network: SNY, and you have
chosen NOT to carry it.
Before this, you decided it would be prudent to remove MSG from your line-up
and ADD the Yankees' network YES, eliminating one of the few outlets we had at
the time for televised Mets games.
You also felt it was fine to CHARGE us for this channel without the choice of
opting out. I don't want YES, I don't want to see the Yankees, and I sure as
heck don't want to PAY for it!
You offered us the New England flavor of the Fox Sports Network and not the New
York version (another Mets television outlet).
Often times you would throw us poor Mets fans a bone and switch over to FSNY on
the nights the Mets were on. Seemingly just as often you would fail to do so
(Celtics basketball...hoooray!), or do so late, leaving us with a major case of
blue (and orange) balls!
You gave the Red Sox fans NESN!
You also felt it was fine to CHARGE us for this channel without the choice of
opting out. I don't want NESN, I don't want to see the Red Sox, and I sure as
heck don't want to PAY for it!
Again, You have chosen NOT TO CARRY SNY!
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The Result
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The schedule below illustrates which Mets games Cox
Cable subscribers will miss the first month of the season alone.
Out of 25 televised games, we are going to get a grand total of 6!
ESPN blackouts might reduce that number even further!
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The Response
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Cox has the "compassion and thoughtfulness" to force us to have the Yankeee Egomaniac Service and the Not Everyone's Sport Network. Yet, the team whose fans gave us banners, the wave, real cheers (Lets Go Mets), the miracle of 69 (mentioned by God in Oh, God). are forced to endure more time in the desert. THey give us who knows how many shopping channels, high school basketball from RI (Yeah, THATS relative to me in Meriden.) My son lives in Wallingford. and he can gat the Mets, but he's a Sox fan, and he controls the remote.
My recent cable bill was $132, what with HBO, internet, etc. I'm willing to pay for the channel, but they would rather take my money and ignore me unless I pay late.
I understand SNY is partially owned by Cablevision, one of Cox's rivals. But c'mon, Cox, stop being so arrogant!
Bernie
I have been a Mets fan since their inception. In addition to watching them on television, I have attended a good number of their games at Shea Stadium. I can’t help but wonder if, in addition to bombarding Cox Communications with complaints, it would be prudent to also complain to the Mets organization. Perhaps if they were aware of the alienation that is being experienced by a large group of their fan base, they would be more willing to negotiate with cheapskate New England oriented Cox Communications.
In all these years, I have never been without my team until now. It seems somewhat sad that in the last third of my life, Cox steals that pleasure from me.
I would switch to a dish, but I live in a condo so I can’t have one. I would move, but I’m sure that my wife wouldn’t like that! (There probably would be one dead Met fan.)
Oh well, let’s just keep on writing and fighting.
John
Loved reading your letter to the editor this morning in the record journal. And your website is awesome!
I would completely urge you and many others to SAY GOODBYE to COX. My father and I are big mets fans in meriden, and after many calls to COX we finally woke up and said GOODBYE. For a week now we've had DIRECTV and cannot believe we didn't make the switch sooner. We get TWICE as many channels, all crystal clear, a ton of other features, not to mention SNY along with our local channels (and NESN, YES, ESPN classic, ESPN news, NFL Network, MSG) for LESS than what we were paying for COX expanded basic. They are also throwing in FREE Installation, FREE delivery, FREE remote, FREE receiver, AND a FREE portbable DVD player for making the switch. And did I mention the $150 rebate????? And I'm paying LESS!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE continue to urge others to call COX, but the best thing people can do is say GOODBYE!!!!!
Luke
This is ridiculous that I cannot get SNY to watch the
games.
Please let me know what I can do.
Oswaldo
Why you think Cox should ADD SNY TO THEIR LINEUP!
Because I just signed up for Direct TV due to this very reason.
Michael
I have written COX on three separate occasion asking why we cant have SNY and
requesting we do. Each time I have been told they have no current intention of
adding SNY. If they decide to expand their channel lineup it will be
considered. That’s it, nothing more. We first had to endure losing MSG in favor
of YES. We were forced to pay for the channel, whether we wanted it or not.
They forced us to take NESN, which is preferable to YES, in that I can watch
the Red Sox. Again however we were forced to pay for it. They are offering us
Fox Sports New England, which carries nothing more than the Boston Celtics and
a lot of garbage programming. Fact is there are plenty of NY Met fans in
Connecticut. We should have the ability to watch NY Mets baseball just as NY
Yankee and Boston Red Sox fans were given the opportunity to watch their teams
play. Its time COX starts listening to its customers and providing services we
really want. Your right, Direct TV and Dish TV offer viable alternatives, and
if, COX chooses not to offer SNY my June 1, I will be canceling all my COX
services and switch to Satellite.
Aaron
I live in Meriden and was absolutely furious when I called Cox (for the 2nd
time) after learning the ESPN game was blacked out. I was told that they are in
negotiations with SNY and it will be added but the CSR couldn't give me a date.
I'm thinking that's a load of crap. I'm so fed up with Cox. I'm giving them one
month and then I'll start looking into satellite. It's unfair that I pay for
YES and NESN with out even an option for SNY.
~Tom
Good stuff...while you are addressing this, please note that Comcast (who is a
part of this channel), is not showing SNY to its CT customers in Central
Connecticut (e.g. Hartford) despite many requests.
Don't forget us Comcast customers in central CT
FYI here is a line from the Hartford Courant regarding Cox and SNY from a
couple of weeks ago
"Although [SNY] has not begun any negotiations with us, we would be willing to
see if we could find a way to add the channel without penalizing non-sports
fans," Cox spokeswoman Leigh Ann Woisard said Thursday. "Our preference would
be to carry the network as a premium channel so that those who want it can opt
to pay extra for it and those who do not want it are not penalized with extra
costs."
http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-media0407.artapr07,0,5533690.story
Buzz
Summertime is Mets time. Cox has made it impossible for me to watch Mets games.
I'm left with no choice but to seek a local high speed service that does;
either Direct TV or Dish TV.....further incentive is Cox's lack of an HD ABC
channel. I would imagine they will lose a fair amount of subscribership from
Mets fans.
Martin
Cox meriden wants METS NOW SNY!
Howard
"Dear those at COX Cable who are responsible for this outrage, Picture this:
You are a die-hard New York Met fan. The team this year is the greatest it has
been since 1986. You have witnessed both the excitement of seeing them make it
to the playoffs and in 2000, the World Series, and also got to stick with them
through the tougher seasons. After being entirely thrilled about the off-season
trades, etc, you come to find that your favorite team will be playing on their
own channel: SNY. Then, you find out that you will not be getting the channel.
You become very upset and say to yourself, "Well maybe COX will eventually pick
it up, and until then I'll just watch them on the WB and on ESPN." But the WB
hardly shows games like they used to, and ESPN keeps blocking out the few games
they claim they will show. This is a very frustrating situation for all Met
fans. It's also a misjudgment on your parts....you all could have made a lot of
money by adding this channel."
Nicole
I've been a Met fan from day one. I live in NY State about 300 miles from Shea
Stadium. My cable provider claims that Com Cast must sign an agreement because
they get there feed from them... This is very funny because Com Cast is part
owner in SNY... The bottom line for me is I can't get cable ... Get blacked out
of ESPN when they televise Mets games because I live in NY State...Can't get
MLB TV because I live in NY State and there blacked out.... At least I can get
the games from MLB on radio...or read the game on the Yahoo. Let me know what's
happening with your problem..
Prospect421
read on Matts Mets blog
I went through the same bs with Blue ridge comm here in the Pocono mountains.
Direct tv is still in negotiations so i cant switch back. Finally they signed
the contract and I received a courtesy call from them saying it is now being
carried on channell 74. The only thing I could do was call the corporate
offices and let them know they could add me to the count of customers who would
appreciate them carrying the mets. I wish you good luck and I am empathetic to
your angst. Its bad enough to watch Yes. I'd commit suicide watching NESN.
Jim
Just came across your 'Give us Our Mets' site and it's nice to know that
someone is organizing our efforts. It's been a painful week in my house. I'm in
Manchester.
Here's what I've done so far...
1. Called Cox about a month ago asking them about SNY. The CSR I spoke with had
never even heard of SNY. She ended up filing out a 'Channel Request Form' for
me and suggested that I tell my friends to call in requesting SNY.
2. Sent an email to John Howell at the Hartford Courant. He's their Sports
Media Columnist. He responded to me saying that we're out of luck.
3. Last Thursday I was fuming that our team was blacked out on ESPN, so I
called Cox again to complain. I was told by the CSR that they had just had a
meeting and they were told that adding SNY wasn't 'financially feasible'. I was
again told to tell my friends to call.. blah blah blah.
4. I've emailed back and forth with Matt Cerrone who runs MetsBlog.com. (Check
it out if you haven't. Fantastic site.) I've sent him a link to your site.
I don't have any additional reasons to add as to why we should have the Mets on
Cox. Just include me with what's happening.
Here's hoping we can do something.
Randy
Hi Jeremy, my name is Greg, I am a customer of Cox through my landlord, I found
your site through metsblog.com. I personally made a call for SNY in March, they
told me "we are not currently getting anymore channels for the year" I hope
this helps our cause, I'm going through Mets withdrawls, please get me my mets
Greg
Jeremy-
I feel your pain! I moved to CT a year ago, when Cox said they did not carry
MSG or FSN I went with Dish Network right away. Go get a satellite dish, hurt
them in the wallet!!!! LETS GO METS
Evan
Jeremy, I am right with you. I am a Suscom subscriber from Mahopac, NY and we
are not getting SNY either. Suscom recently was purchased by Comcast and they
will not add the channel until the sale officially goes through. If there is
anything that I can do to help spread awareness, let me know. I have called my
cable company through all parts of the corporate ladder, and been in touch with
Vinny from Metsville.com.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Justin
To whom it may concern,
I live in Glastonbury and have been a Cox Subscriber for about a year now. I
can't understand why Cox Cable is not willing to at least provide SNY as an
alternative to those of us who are Mets fans and have no interest in watching
the Yankees. I can't even watch the ESPN broadcast of the Mets games during the
season because of the MLB blackout policy. So basically I am stuck with about
25 games that are broadcast on WTXX. If I was given a choice I would choose SNY
and NESN - but at the moment all I get is NESN. I find it annoying that I am
paying for the YES network - a channel that I have no interest in watching at
all.
Thanks for your time,
David
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What Can You Do?
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1) Email me at jeremy.haynes@gmail.com
and tell me why you think Cox should ADD SNY TO THEIR LINEUP!
I will compile ALL emails received and send them to Cox
directly!
2) Call COX directly and DEMAND SNY!
| Phone Number |
Service Area |
| (860) 436-4269 |
Glastonbury, Manchester, Newington, Rocky Hill, South
Windsor and Wethersfield |
| (203) 439-4269
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Cheshire, Meriden, Southington |
| (860) 426-4269
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Southington, Plainville Exchange |
| (800) 955-9515
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East Granby, East Windsor, Enfield, Granby, Hartland,
Somers, Stafford, Suffield, Union, Windsor Locks
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If you do call, please
email me to let me know the outcome. With you permission, I will
publish your emails on this site.
3) Dump COX and sign up with the satellite provider of
your choice: DirectTV and
Dish Networks. Hit Cox where it hurts by cancelling your cable
subscription and signing up for Satellite service!
 
4) Write the editor of your local newspaper. The
Record-Journal recently published my letter and I urge you to follow suit.
Record-Journal - letters@record-journal.com
New Haven Register - letters@nhregister.com
Hartford Courtant - letters@courant.com
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