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MSG and Time Warner Cable Reach Deal to End Jeremy Lin Blackout

By Julie Shapiro | February 17, 2012 4:04pm | Updated on February 17, 2012 4:33pm

MANHATTAN — This may be Jeremy Lin's biggest slam-dunk yet.

Time Warner Cable has resolved a dispute with the MSG Network and will begin showing Knicks games after a 48-day blackout that left many New Yorkers unable to watch standout star Lin's ascension to fame, according to politicians and officials.

The details of the deal were not immediately clear, but the blackout will end in time for Time Warner Cable users to watch Friday night's game against the New Orleans Hornets at 8 p.m., officials said. 

The announcement came Friday afternoon amid mounting pressure from officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Council Speaker Christine Quinn for the two networks to reach an agreement.

"Jeremy Lin’s gonna be on TV!" Cuomo said Friday night on former Gov. David Paterson's radio show.

"I applaud them for their civic-mindedness and their responsibility," Cuomo continued. "And they got, at the end of the day, that they had a service that they needed to provide the consumers, and that came first."

Cuomo added that Lin's meteoric popularity may have influenced Madison Square Garden Company executive chairman James Dolan and Time Warner chairman Glenn Britt in coming to a deal.

"I did not have that conversation with either of the gentlemen," Cuomo said, "but I believe, my instinct is, that heightened the pressure, because people really wanted to see the programming."

MSG released a statement calling the deal "tentative" and thanking fans for their patience during the blackout. A Time Warner spokesman confirmed the agreement but declined to comment further.

The blackout started Jan. 1 when Time Warner refused to pay the amount MSG demanded to continue carrying the network, according to reports.

Quinn, who had threatened to hold Council hearings if the impasse did not end, praised the two sides on Friday for coming together.

"I want to thank the MSG Network and Time Warner Cable for coming to a deal that will put the Knicks and the Rangers back on TV," Quinn said in a statement.

"Now, a million more New Yorkers will be able to go 'Linsane' in the privacy of their own living room. I’m looking forward to watching the return of Carmelo Anthony for the Knicks and Henrik Lundqvist in goal for the Rangers."

Cuomo said he would be rooting for the Knicks to win big Friday on their first night back on Time Warner.

"Let's win tonight and then we'll really have something to celebrate this weekend," he said.

With reporting by Jill Colvin.