HARTFORD — State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk and fellow Democratic Fairfield County senators Monday issued a joint call to Altice and MSG Entertainment to resolve their ongoing dispute that has left Connecticut sports fans unable to watch their favorite teams.
“We will not take any side in this dispute except that of our constituents, who pay significant amounts of money for the content you both provide but cannot view the athletic events that give them joy,” the senators stated in their joint letter to Altice Chairman and CEO Dennis Mathew and MSG Entertainment Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan. “It’s time for both sides to play ball so our residents can get back to the game.”
As of Jan. 19, Optimum and MSG Networks had not reached an agreement that would restore MSG programming to Optimum’s cable systems.
The senators demanded that customers regain access to the Madison Square Garden channel through Optimum while negotiations continue. Additionally, they called for refunds or reduced bills if customers remain unable to access the content for which they are paying. In addition to Duffy, those senators who penned the letter include are James Maroney (D-Milford), Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (D-Trumbull), Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport), Julie Kushner (D-Danbury), Ceci Maher (D-Wilton), and Patricia Billie Miller (D-Stamford).
Fans of the New York Rangers, Knicks, Devils, and other teams remain caught in the crossfire as the companies fail to come to terms.
“The constant gamesmanship by all sides in the television wars must stop,” the senators wrote. “Time for both sides to play ball so our residents can get back to the game.”
The senators highlighted the potential for both companies to lose customers if the issue remains unresolved, as frustrated fans may turn to alternative entertainment options.
For weeks, Optimum and MSG Networks have been negotiating continued carriage on Optimum systems. Over the last two weeks, Optimum said it hosted MSG Networks’ executives in its offices twice and hosted multiple calls trying to find a solution that would bring MSG Networks’ content to fans and prevent non-viewers from having to pay for what they do not watch. MSG Networks has refused all offers, according to Altice, owner of Optimum cable systems in Fairfield County, Westchester County and Hudson Valley.
“As MSG Networks continues to deflect responsibility for its ongoing blackout of Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils games, Monday, Optimum has called on the programmer to refund customers upwards of $125 million — representing the estimated $10 per month per subscriber MSG Networks announced its sports programming is worth,” Altice said in a statement.
“In light of its impending bankruptcy, MSG Networks continues to try and extort consumers for their hard-earned dollars while charging die-hard fans triple the costs, despite airing less games due to a $76 billion NBA deal that MSG and its owners will benefit from,” Altice charged in that press release.
MSG responded in kind:
“In response to Optimum’s last release what we have to say is simple: Cut the B.S. – give us the same deal you gave YES Networks just a few months ago or give us our old deal which we had with you previously or refund every subscriber what you owe them – $10 a month. And by the way you already owe them $5 for the lack of programming they didn’t get for the first half of January.”
Meanwhile, Nexstar Media Group and Altice have reached an agreement to settle their dispute over the fees Optimum has to pay Nexstar to carry its TV stations such as WPIX channel 11 in New York and cable networks such as NewsNation. In a joint statement, Nexstar and Optimum referred to the agreement as a “comprehensive partnership.”
The agreement has resulted in all Nexstar programming being restored to Altice USA’s Optimum TV customers.
