Sports
Local Bars See Surge Thanks to Fox Blackout
With Fox blacked out, sports fans flocked to local bars for their games.
While bad news for sports fans, the ongoing Fox 5 blackout on Cablevision is good news for the local bars, especially on football Sunday.
Brendan Tandy, owner of Smithtown's Napper Tandy's, said that Napper's always hosts a packed bar for Sunday football, but that they received a lot more phone calls on Saturday night from fans inquiring about the Sunday Giants game.
Blacksmith Tavern was so packed Sunday afternoon that bartenders did not have a free minute to answer questions. However, residents were loud and clear on the issue.
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"I think it's terrible that you can't get a basic cable channel because of money issues with the cable provider," said Chris Hotzak, a patron at Blacksmith's because he could not watch the Giants game from his home.
Tim Mayer, a Giants fan watching the game at Napper Tandy's, said that he also usually watches the game at his house.
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"I'm on Cablevision's side," Mayer said. "I want to be able to watch the games at home, especially if the Yankees make the World Series." Fox has the television rights for the 2010 World Series.
Cablevision subscribers won't find any football this Sunday until the later games. The New York Giants have their Fox game blacked out and CBS doesn't air any football games when another New York team is playing.
Some Smithtown bars didn't take advantage of the situation - both Molly Blooms and Katie's on Main Street were closed. Hotoke restaurant had the Giants on, but no one was there to see it.
