New York Attorney General Letitia James pressed MSG Networks and Altice — the parent company of Optimum — to settle the ongoing dispute that has left Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils fans without the ability to watch local games since midnight on Jan. 1.
“As two major corporations engage in contract talks, the people who are impacted the most are everyday New Yorkers who simply want to watch sports and enjoy television programming,” James said in a statement Monday. “I will be monitoring this situation closely to ensure New York customers receive the services they are paying for. I urge both companies to work together to reach a fair, final agreement so New Yorkers can get back to rooting for the home teams.”
James commented days after MSG Networks and Optimum exchanged scathing statements Friday about the saga, with MSG Networks accusing Optimum of pulling its latest proposal and walking away from negotiations.
In their previous deal, Optimum paid MSG Networks $10 per subscriber, The Post’s Josh Kosman previously reported.
Optimum executive vice president of communications Lisa Anselmo then followed with her own statement hours later Friday that ripped MSG Networks for “pushing out misleading narratives to the media” and rejecting all of their proposals.
Anselmo said Optimum invited MSG Networks to their offices last week and were, at the time, still waiting for a response to their request for a follow-up meeting.
MSG Networks released a statement of their own following James’ comment, saying that Altice should be refunding its customers.
“We thank New York Attorney General Letitia James for stepping in on behalf of Optimum subscribers who are not getting what they are paying for,” MSG Networks said in a statement Monday. “We hope the Attorneys General in New Jersey and Connecticut do the same, as well as other officials and advocates across the tri-state area. MSG Networks calls on Optimum customers to reach out to their Attorneys General, consumer advocates, and other Federal and State officials to demand Altice USA either restore MSG Networks and its coverage of the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils or automatically reduce subscribers’ monthly bills by the amount Altice USA saves by no longer carrying this programming.
“Altice USA is taking advantage of its subscribers, attempting to pad their struggling company’s bottom line by pocketing the more than $10/month they should automatically be reimbursing to its more than 1 million subscribers while MSG Networks remains dark. That’s MORE THAN $120 million in annual fees Altice USA’s Optimum subscribers continue to pay for content they aren’t getting. … You should not be a pawn in Altice USA’s game.”
Anselmo responded to James’ comments in a new statement to The Post on Monday.
“Optimum agrees with the Attorney General that fans should be able to continue to watch their favorite teams,” Anselmo said, “and Optimum continues to negotiate in good faith to reach a deal that restores programming for fans and ensures that non-viewers — which represent half of the customer base — don’t have to pay for it. In the meantime, we have solutions for all of our customers, and they can learn more at optimum.com/msg.”
