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04/05/2016 03:35 PMHARTFORD, CT - On April 4, State Rep. Sean Scanlon (D, District 98-Guilford, Branford Stony Creek/Pine Orchard) called on Comcast to refund Connecticut customers for failing to provide them with the YES Network, a channel hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents sought when determining which cable package to purchase from the company.
"Starting today, hundreds of thousands of Connecticut Comcast customers and Yankees fans won't be able to watch their team as they begin their 2016 season," said Scanlon. "My constituents had hoped this corporate dispute over profits would be resolved by now but, since it's not, it's only fair for Comcast to begin refunding customers for a portion of their bill for failing to provide a channel they signed up for when they bought their cable packages."
Since November Comcast and the YES Network, the official network of the New York Yankees, have been unable to come to an agreement on a new contract. This impasse is currently impacting 900,000 customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Nearly half of Connecticut's 169 towns are serviced by Comcast.
Last month, Scanlon and 29 of his colleagues from both sides of the aisle sent the CEO's of Comcast and YES a letter urging them to come to an agreement before the first day of the Major League Baseball season on April 4th. Scanlon, who authored the letter, said he began hearing from constituents about this once spring training began and fans started noticing the network was gone.
"While the diehard fans noticed a month ago, I guarantee there are going to be tens of thousands of casual fans who come home this week after a long day at work, flip on the TV, and realize they can't watch a few innings of the Yankees game in between cooking dinner and helping their kids with their homework," said Scanlon. "Their reaction will understandably be great frustration knowing they are paying for a service that's not being delivered and I believe their frustration is entirely justified."
According to a March 2015 Quinnipiac University poll, the Yankees are Connecticut's most popular major league team with 44% followed by the Red Sox with 37% and the Mets with 6%.
"The people of Connecticut could care less about finger pointing and corporate blame-gaming - they just want to watch their team and, if they can't, it's only right for Comcast to refund them due to the loss of a channel they signed up for."