I began my day today by writing a scathing, yet respectful email to Jim Dolan at Cablevision to describe and submit my displeasure with their choice to yank Food Network and HGTV from my television lineup.
The letter went a little like this:
"Good morning. First let me begin by stating that I am a Cablevision subscriber, with my cable, Internet, and phone provided by your company. I have been a subscriber for almost four years and am very upset by the recent proceedings. I have fast Internet service, which I enjoy. I have reliable phone service, which I am content with, but my television service, because of recent events, has made me very unhappy."
I usually wake up, reasonably late, on a Saturday or Sunday morning and turn on channel 766, Food Network in HD. Normally, I awaken my groggy self by watching Ina Garten, Paula Deen, or Sandra Lee make something so delicious that I wished I had smell-o-vision. But, not this weekend, Saturday there was a white screen where Food Network used to air a statement about how they are "sorry" played over and over, ad nauseam.
I continue:
"I have enjoyed watching the Food Network for years and do not think that it is fair to pull the channel because of a lack of compromise between Cablevision and Scripps. Your subscribers are loyal and have been slapped in the face by this maneuver when we want nothing but to turn on the television and watch what interests us. Families sit together and watch programming from the very channels you have omitted from your services. Your company's job is to provide subscribers with televised entertainment on a regular, reliable basis and we pay a lot for you to do so. You have sullied this experience for us by pulling the two channels from your programming that we enjoy and we will not be satisfied until they return."
I am completely prepared to stand behind this statement. How can I go to bed without Guy Fieri and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the TV? I can't! It has already affected my slumber. I put on Food Network because I know scary commercials don't air at night while I am in bed, something I heard Jennifer Lopez say and completely understand because I feel the same way. This is affecting a lot of people's lives, including my own.
"I know that there are a lot of viewers who are angered by the inability to watch the Food Network and HGTV and, unfortunately, I do not think that they will tire from their efforts to restore these channels to their rightful locations on our televisions."
There are a lot of people who are not happy with Cablevision's inability to negotiate a reasonable contract with Scripps. Whenever I bring it up in conversation or on Facebook or Twitter, people chime in with their disgust. This is a travesty and a violation of our rights as Cablevision subscribers and Long Island community members. We cannot be powerless to big business, we must let our voices be heard. I pay a lot of money every month and it is not to get disrespected and brushed aside. I will not stand idly by as my rights and interests are disregarded. I know you may think this a trivial cause, but it is like the late Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." And how true that remains!
Join the cause: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/427393 or send an ecard http://ilovefoodnetwork.com and help us fight for what we believe in, a life full of recipes we would rather eat than create and television chefs who have our stomachs growling before they are even finished introducing themselves. Ah...the Food Network! Culinarians unite.
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