The presence of Sabres games in the Utica and Albany market led to some controversy, because most cable systems in that market that were not served by Adelphia had not carried the Empire Sports Network for several years, and the fanbase for the Sabres is widely thought to be smaller than that of the New York City-area teams (and even Boston-area teams, as WSBK-TV (channel 38) served the region for several years before each upstate market received their own local affiliates of now-defunct networks UPN and The WB).