Verizon asks FCC for greater HD access

Verizon Communications Inc., seeking high-definition TV coverage of the New York Knicks and Rangers, asked regulators to order Cablevision Systems Corp. and its Madison Square Garden unit to share their broadcast feeds.

Cablevision has refused to sell the HD rights for local New York teams to Verizon, according to a petition to the Federal Communications Commission filed today. Verizon, which began offering TV service in the area last year, said local sports coverage is considered a "must have" by New York customers.

Verizon, the second-largest U.S. telephone company, is seeking more television customers as the pool of new phone subscribers shrinks. Cablevision's denial of sports programming is anticompetitive, Verizon said, making it harder for the company to attract viewers. New York is the largest U.S. TV market, with more than 30 percent of viewers watching high- definition television, according to Nielsen Co.

Cablevision's Madison Square Garden business doesn't have to license its HD programming to anyone, said Dan Schoenberg, a spokesman for the company. Verizon customers can already get the games through satellite service, he said.

Cablevision, through its MSG subsidiary, runs two regional networks in New York that hold exclusive production and viewing rights to the games. Cablevision also owns the Rangers hockey team and the Knicks basketball team.

Verizon fell 49 cents to $28.69 at 1:40 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Cablevision, based in Bethpage, New York, declined 10 cents to $17.52.

Verizon, based in New York, ranks second to AT&T Inc. in U.S. phone customers.