Verizon has filed a formal program access complaint with the FCC to secure Rainbow Media Holdings' sports programming for Verizon's FiOS TV customers in New York and New England.
According to Verizon, Rainbow has refused to begin negotiating a carriage agreement for Fox Sports Network New York, Fox Sports Network New England and Madison Square Garden Network — all controlled by Rainbow — for more than a year.
Through Rainbow Media Holdings, Cablevision operates regional sports networks in New York that hold rights to produce and show games of local teams, including the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils.
Rainbow also operates and owns a 50 percent interest in a regional sports network that holds rights to produce and show games of the Boston Celtics, among other teams in the Boston area.
Verizon currently offers FiOS TV, a video service over fiber-optic networks, in communities in seven states, including Massapequa Park, Nyack and South Nyack, NY; and Reading and Woburn, MA.