MSG Networks programming has been restored on Optimum after the two parties reached a new carriage deal over the weekend following a months-long standoff.
“MSG Networks and Optimum would like to thank everyone for their patience as we partnered to reach this new agreement to benefit our fans and Optimum subscribers,” the companies said in a joint statement.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The programming blackout, which impacted New York Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and New Jersey Devils fans in the tri-state area, began after the previous contract expired at midnight on Dec. 31.
Optimum argued that MSG was demanding “exorbitant” programming fees and required the TV and Internet provider to make MSG channels available to the vast majority of its video subscribers, whether they wanted the content or not. It noted that nearly 50% of customers with access to MSG Networks didn’t even turn on the channel in 2024 and called on the programmer to refund customers upwards of $125 million — representing an estimated $10 per month per subscriber.
Meanwhile, MSG said it offered Altice a number of “fair and reasonable” proposals that called for the company to pay it less than last year. However, it said Altice rejected all of them, including an offer to keep MSG Networks on the air while the two parties continued to negotiate.
The weeks-long dispute prompted a letter from New York. Gov Kathy Hochul earlier this month, who threatened Optimum with hearings after the Department of Public Service sent a formal request asking the company to explain whether it was issuing credits to customers or if a “cost-neutral alternative” was being provided for the lack of programming.
“After 52 days in the penalty box, New York sports fans will finally be able to watch the Knicks, Rangers and Islanders again,” Hochul said in a statement following the agreement. “This long-overdue step comes after I directed the Department of Public Service to call for public hearings on how consumers are being shortchanged by weeks of corporate bickering. I’m going to keep fighting like hell for New York consumers — no matter which team they root for.”
The latest carriage renewal for Optimum comes after it struck a similar deal with Nexstar in January, which restored programming from NewsNation and network and local programming provided by the latter’s 63 television stations in 42 markets.
