Time Warner Cable Chief Fires Back at MSG Sports Network

Facing a heated battle with MSG sports network over rising rates, Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt said sports channels should be sold separately from the main cable-TV package of channels.

"What was a minor problem is turning into an astronomical problem," Britt said, referring to the cost of sports programming generally. "The ultimate solution is to get that programming on some sort of smaller packaging scheme." Britt spoke as rhetoric between Time Warner Cable and MSG network owner Madison Square Garden Co. has been escalating ahead of a New Year's Eve deadline for resolution of a dispute between the two companies. If unresolved, the sports network could be blacked out in roughly two million New York-area homes on New Year's Eve. The network carries games of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, also owned by Madison Square Garden Company.