MSG Networks-Altice negotiations break down in carriage dispute
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson, left, dribbles the ball against the Toronto Raptors' Jakob Poeltl, right, during the second half of an NBA game Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Pamela Smith
Knicks, Rangers and Islanders fans hoping to catch the games on Optimum TV could be out of luck for some time. Talks between MSG Networks and Altice USA to restore MSG to the Optimum TV lineup have broken off, MSGN said in a statement late Friday afternoon.
The news came shortly before the Knicks tipped off against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the sixth Knicks game affected by the dispute, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Also Friday, Optimum dropped WPIX-TV from its lineup shortly after 5 p.m., the result of a dispute between Altice and Nexstar, PIX11’s parent company. Nexstar owns local stations around the country, including PIX11. WPIX typically carries about 20 Mets games a season.
MSG Networks also carries Rangers, Islanders and Devils games, all of which are not currently available on Optimum TV due to the carriage dispute that comes at the height of the winter sports season. A carriage dispute is a disagreement over compensation between the distributor, which is Altice, to carry a channel from the provider, which is MSG Networks.
HOW TO WATCH THE GAMES
- Knicks, Rangers and Islanders games can be streamed through the Gotham Sports App.
- For households in Altice’s geographical footprint, MSG also can be accessed via Verizon Fios, DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and fuboTV.
- More details here.
Altice has been offering billing discounts, gift cards and other perks to try to keep customers from defecting, especially to Verizon Fios, a key competitor.
“Altice USA has pulled their last proposal and walked away from negotiations to bring MSG Networks back to its Optimum subscribers,” MSGN’s statement said.
Altice USA responded with a statement that said, in part, “Optimum requested a follow up meeting with MSG executives and we are still pending a response."
The sides appear to agree on which Optimum tier the channel should be on — the new “Everything” package that costs $160 per month. But they still must agree on a monthly price per subscriber, a key revenue source for MSG.
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.
More sports media
