Thursday, October 1, 2026
Many in Long Beach may have watched Big Blue defeat the Detroit Lions 28–20 at the New Meadowlands Stadium last Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t from the comfort of their homes.
New York Giants fans made their way to local restaurants and bars this past Sunday to catch the game due to the dispute between the News Corp. — owner of Fox Broadcasting Company — and Bethpage-based Cablevision, which resulted in the blackout of local Fox stations, including WNYW Channel 5. The stations have been dark since early Saturday morning.
Roughly 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the New York metropolitan area, including Long Island, have been affected. The corporations are feuding over how much Cablevision should pay Fox in fees to carry channels such as Fox 5 and My9, and as a result, the networks were removed from Cablevision's TV lineup.
As the Herald went to press on Wednesday, there didn’t seem to be a resolution in sight as the dispute between the two corporate giants dragged on.
Yet residents took the blackout in stride and hit a slew of West End bars and restaurants to watch the game on wide-screen TVs. While the dispute has left many fans disgruntled and angry, many restaurant and bar managers in Long Beach said they were happy to accommodate patrons, and said that last Sunday was a boon for business.
“We got a pop out of it,” said Jay Barje, general manager of Minnesota’s, who said Sunday was busier than usual because of the dispute. “It was a pretty packed house.”
Long Beach resident John McNally and his wife rode their bikes to Billy’s Beach Café to watch the Giants game, where he said he spent $100 dollars between food and drinks.
“Cold beer and great wings doesn’t hurt,” said McNally, though he said that as soon as he gets the chance, he’s dropping Cablevision. “This was the last straw,” he said.
Gay O’Connor, manager of The Saloon, said that it was an “excellent turnout” on Sunday, and that everyone was “having a good time” enjoying football and relaxing. She also noted that many places on the strip were very busy.
At The Whale’s Tale, there was a large turnout and plenty of talk about the Cablevision vs. Fox battle. “Everyone was talking about it,” said floor manager Jamie Green, who explained that the restaurant enticed customers with its “Got Cable?” sign posted outside the restaurant. “It was great [for business].”
Comments about this story? Cengelhardt@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
