Failure for Fox, Optimum to reach agreement could affect customers' access to MLB playoffs, World Series
Fox and Altice, the company behind the Optimum brand, are heading into the final week of their existing contract and face a potential carriage dispute that would cause a disruption in sports programming beginning Oct. 1, when their agreement runs out. Optimum customers could lose a variety of channels, including Ch. 5 and FS1, whose offerings include NFL games, college football and Major League Baseball playoff games. The Fox umbrella also includes FX, National Geographic and other channels.
Fox this year will carry the National League playoffs and World Series while Turner has the American League. The contract negotiations do not involve the YES Network, which provides pregame and postgame Yankees coverage for the playoffs, even though Fox owns YES.
Fox regularly carries Giants regular-season games and occasionally Jets games. The Giants face the Panthers on Fox on Oct. 7. The Eagles and Giants have a Thursday night game on Oct. 11, but that game will be shown on both Fox and the NFL Network.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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