The Optimum-MSG Networks carriage dispute story took an unexpected turn Wednesday.
No, the Altice USA-owned cable provider and MSG have not ended the dispute that led to a blackout that began Jan. 1 on Optimum. That blackout has left New York-area fans of the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, and New Jersey Devils without a way to watch their favorite teams on the cable service.
And no, the new development Wednesday didn’t involve Optimum issuing refunds to affected customers, as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had requested Monday, in lieu of the dispute’s end.
No, Wednesday’s news unfolded in The New York Post, which reported that Altice had issued “fat raises” to top Altice executives. The paper cited Securities and Exchange Commission documents showing that, for example, Altice USA CEO Dennis Matthew, got a raise to $1.55 million a year from $1 million. Chief Financial Officer Marc Sirota saw his base salary increase from $500,000 to $650,000.
Some Optimum customers affected by the blackout were not happy to see the news.
https://t.co/DKTZzE8sTI Total bullshit! Pay to watch my Rangers but of course that’s not happening nor can I get refunded but raises of millions to execs No of it makes sense ! Wait til the Yankee fans can’t watch a game we may all have to take it to the streets
— Mark Mulitz (@MarkMulitz) February 12, 2025
“These pay increases are funded at the expense of Altice’s customers who continue to pay for programming they no longer receive,” an MSG Networks spokesperson told The Post on Wednesday.
Carriage disputes are nothing new, but the Optimum-MSG Networks feud has been particularly heated. MSG Networks recently accused Altice of walking away from negotiations. When MSG proposed arbitration as a short-term solution to end the blackout, Optimum called the proposal “nothing more than a PR stunt.”
Hochul got involved Monday, issuing a statement calling for the Department of Public Service “to demand that all customers are either provided with alternative means to view the games of the affected New York sports or be provided with a pro rata refund.” The DPS sent a letter to Altice requesting “the specific steps the company will take to ensure customers are held harmless during the dispute.”
An Altice USA spokesperson told The Post that James Dolan, the executive chairman of MSG Networks who owns the Knicks and Rangers, bears blame for the continuing blackout.
“The main issue is customer choice in an environment where approximately 50% of customers have not tuned into MSG Networks at all in the last year, yet MSG requires us, as a condition of carrying the network at all, to distribute and include the channel in nearly every customer’s package, regardless of interest,” the spokesperson said.
Optimum customers have an alternative for watching games. MSG Networks offers a direct-to-consumer streaming service, MSG+, for $30 per month. Optimum is offering to “help offset and defray the costs” of an MSG+ subscription.
