Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NY attorney general says Optimum customers deserve refund for MSG channels they can't watch
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Feb 6, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Feb 6, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Attorneys general from three states are demanding that cable company Optimum automatically refund customers who paid for MSG Network cable channels, but who have been denied access to the programming since the start of January.
Customers lost the channels at the start of the year amid an ongoing contract dispute between Optimum’s parent company, Altice, and MSG Networks. The missing MSG Networks channels provide exclusive coverage of the New York Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Buffalo Sabres.
But attorneys general from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut said customers have continued to pay — and their money should be returned without them having to request it.
“New York sports fans are being put in the penalty box, forced to shell out their hard-earned money for television channels they cannot even watch,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
James said she was “determined to secure a solution for New Yorkers who have had to endure these unfair blackouts and I urge Optimum and MSG to finally reach a deal so New Yorkers can watch their home teams.”
A letter the attorneys general sent Altice makes no mention of any legal action they might take to force the issue.
The two sides have pointed fingers over the channel blackout since its start — and continued to in light of the refund demand.
In a statement on Thursday, MSG Networks spokesperson Dan Schoenberg said the company “applaud[s] the attorneys general in demanding Altice do right by its subscribers and either issue a full refund or immediately reach an agreement to return MSG Networks to Optimum subscribers."
Optimum said MSG Networks unfairly insists many of the cable provider’s customers get — and pay for — its sports channels, even if they don’t watch that programming. It said MSG should agree to a contract that allows Optimum subscribers more flexibility to subscribe or abstain from the programming.
Optimum also alleged the sports network is overcharging customers for access to its content, and won’t negotiate on a deal to lower costs in a more modern media landscape. And it said last month MSG should be the one refunding customers.
“It is this antiquated model, one that forces high fees and minimum penetration rates, that continues to drive up the costs of legacy video packages and gives distributors like us little flexibility to adjust prices – especially in an evolving TV landscape where consumers now have more choice than ever before.” Optimum spokesperson Stephen Stokes said in a statement.
Tagged
new york city
new jersey
Politics
sports
Catalina Gonella
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .