By: Michael Rappaport, Madison Square Garden
NEW YORK, NY – Connecticut State Senators sent a letter to MSG Networks and Altice USA (Optimum) about their current carriage dispute, which has left fans without access to the New York Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils. MSG Networks issued a new statement on Tuesday, which was followed up by MSG Networks’ response to the politician’s letter sent on Monday.
“We agree with the letter we received from the Connecticut State Senators and would be happy to have our games restored in Connecticut as well as all the other Optimum areas. We’ve already offered multiple options, all of which Altice has declined:
- A short extension (which we are prepared to offer again tied to binding arbitration);
- A renewal on the exact same terms as our previous agreement;
- A deal on the same terms we recently agreed with another major operator or
- A renewal accepting the same terms and conditions that Altice just recently concluded with the YES Network
However, while our goal has been to get our programming back on, Altice has shown no motivation in solving this. We also agree that Altice should proactively reduce their customers’ monthly bills for programming they are not receiving but are still being charged for. We appreciate their attention to this matter.”
Here is the official statement from MSG Networks.
MSG NETWORKS OFFERS BINDING ARBITRATION BY A NEUTRAL THIRD PARTY TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES WITH ALTICE
NEW YORK (January 21, 2025) – MSG Networks released the following statement about their dispute with Altice USA:
“Our goal is to make sure our Knicks, Rangers, Devils, and Islanders fans who are Optimum subscribers don’t have to miss another game. To that end, we are willing to agree to a short extension tied to resolving our dispute through binding arbitration by a neutral, third party. This will enable Optimum subscribers to watch their favorite sports programming while we resolve our outstanding issues.”
About MSG Networks
MSG Networks, a pioneer in sports media, owns and operates two award-winning regional sports and entertainment networks (MSG and MSG Sportsnet) and MSG+, a direct-to-consumer and authenticated streaming offering (included in the Gotham Sports App), that serve the nation’s number one media market, the New York DMA, as well as other portions of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The networks feature a wide range of compelling sports content, including exclusive live local games and other programming of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Buffalo Sabres, as well as significant coverage of the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. This content and a diverse array of other sporting events and critically acclaimed original programming have established MSG Networks as the gold standard in regional sports. MSG Networks is part of the Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR).
