I've had it for 7 or 8 years, but this is my first season with it on digital cable. It seemed that on DirecTV the Empire guys' coverage was shown in about 70 or so games per season. This season, it's only been once. I don't know if that's a result of having Center Ice on cable or if it's a result of the Adelphia/Empire/MSG mess, but I miss not watching the Empire coverage all of the time.
I went with cable to take advantage of a package deal on high speed internet, phone, and of course, TV, but only because Empire went off the air. Had they still been around, I would have stuck with DTV when I moved across town last year just so I could see Empire. Like you, I really miss their pregame and postgame shows.