Altice USA Customers Lose Access to MSG Networks Due to Carriage Dispute
Altice USA customers lost access to MSG Networks, including the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils, due to a carriage dispute between the cable TV operator and James Dolan’s regional sports channels. The blackout comes as the Knicks are on an eight-game win streak and are slated to play Wednesday evening.
The dispute stems from a disagreement over fees, with MSG Networks accusing Altice USA of rejecting “fair and reasonable proposals” and Altice USA claiming that MSG Networks is demanding “exorbitant programming fees” that could raise customers’ cable bills. MSG Networks is also seeking to make its channels available to the vast majority of Optimum video subscribers.
The dispute highlights the ongoing struggles for regional sports networks as customers leave the cable TV bundle at a fast clip and operators push back on high fees. The regional sports networks business has been severely affected by the consumer switch from traditional cable TV bundles to streaming options. In 2024, Diamond Sports, the owner of the biggest portfolio of these networks, won court approval to exit bankruptcy protection after being plagued by the same headwinds.
To mitigate the disruption, MSG Networks has launched a streaming option priced at $29.99 a month and has teamed up with the YES Network for a combined offering called the Gotham Sports app, which costs $359.99 annually or $41.99 a month. The high prices of these streaming options show the regional sports networks must be careful not to further disrupt the cable TV model and breach contracts with distributors, which help support the billions of dollars in fees the networks pay professional sports teams to air their games.
