By Matt Draper
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
EAST VILLAGE — Their games may be in the middle of a TV blackout, but Rangers fans are still getting their fix.
MSG Networks is televising games at special viewing parties, all while promoting its side of the ongoing negotation stalement with cable provider Time Warner.
Nearly 100 Rangers fans packed The Blind Pig & Grill at 233 East 14th Street Thursday night to watch the Rangers play the Ottawa Senators Thursday night.
In addition to giving out free food, T-shirts and tickets, MSG provided a bevy of touch points for fans to express their displeasure with developments that led to Rangers, Knicks, Devils and Islanders games no longer being shown by Time Warner.
Electronic petitions were circulated on iPads, and a designated cell phone was provided for fans to immediately switch cable providers.
“Since Time Warner isn’t hosting events, I’m siding with MSG,” said Marisol Mendez, 23, who came from Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to watch the game with a friend.
Though Mendez said she didn’t have a choice in cable providers — her neighborhood is only serviced by Time Warner — she still signed to support MSG via the electronic petition being passed around by event staff. Mendez also said she came to an MSG Rangers viewing event last week.
Since MSG and MSG Plus Networks stopped appearing on Time Warner on Jan. 1 because of what MSG calls unrealistic rate hikes, both sides have launched high-profile public relations campaigns.
MSG, though, has gone directly to fans since Jan. 5 with the free viewing parties that have been held throughout the metropolitan area and upstate New York, including Rangers events in Albany, Devils events in New Jersey and Sabres events in Buffalo.
Thursday’s party at The Blind Pig & Grill, which included about eight event staff members, also featured an appearance by former Ranger Brian Mullen, a DJ and an emcee who raffled off a pair of Rangers tickets between periods — while reminding attendees to sign the petition and visit a Twitter handle promoting MSG's cause.
An event staffer said about 50 people sign the petition at each event, and approximately 20 utilize an iPad to input their zip code to find out what alternative cable providers are available.
“We’re urging fans to switch TV providers,” said Dan Schoenberg, vice president of public relations for MSG Networks. “When they gather here we give them the opportunity to see what other [cable provider] options are available.”
Time Warner, however, said MSG caused it to stop showing games.
"The truth of the matter is that the decision to take MSG off the lineup for Time Warner Cable customers was MSG's decision not Time Warner Cable's, as MSG took action to have the channels removed," said Eric Mangan, the cable company's spokesman.
He said MSG initially offered a 6.5 percent price increase to continue carrying channels, a deal which was agreed to. But Mangan said MSG then reneged on the offer, and demanded a 53 percent price increase.
Schoenberg would not comment on how much MSG Networks was spending on the events, which are in part facilitated by an outside agency.
Not all event attendees sided with MSG. Glenn Rothbort, 58, who came from Forest Hills to meet his son and daughter to watch the game, said that MSG Networks should shoulder some of the blame.
“I signed the petition, but I wasn’t going to because they [MSG Networks] were doing a disservice,” said Rothbort, who found out about the event after seeing an advertisement for it on his Facebook page.
“I wouldn’t switch anyway. What’s to happen next year if they dispute with a new provider like FiOS?"
Ultimately, he said, both sides are at fault.
“They [MSG Networks and Time Warner] really don’t care about the fans — just the money,” Rothbort added. “You don’t know who’s telling the truth.”
Rothbort’s son, Russell, agreed that both sides are to blame. Regardless of the event messaging, the family appreciated the free food and swag.
“It’s definitely a propaganda tool,” said Russell, 26. “But it’s not a bad thing to win free tickets.”
