Since New Year’s Day, subscribers to Optimum TV — one of the New York metro area’s largest cable providers — have been without access to MSG, the network that airs the Knicks, Rangers, and other local teams.
The blackout of MSG stems from a dispute over carriage fees between their parent companies: Altice USA and MSG Networks.
Understandably, fans are incensed at their inability to watch the Knicks in one of their best seasons in decades. Long starved of good Knicks basketball, many Knicks fans are now starved of Knicks basketball altogether.
Hochul Steps Onto the Court
Now, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has now stepped into the fray, calling on Optimum and MSG to come to agreement.
It’s good politics for Hochul, who’s begun the new year with a series of populist measures to breathe life into her dismal poll numbers. While many of her proposals have strong public support, a majority of registered voters said they wanted “someone else” as governor, according to a Siena College poll last month.
Hochul, however, remains on the offensive, pivoting to issues that resonate with voters.
In a statement issued on Monday, Hochul described the Optimum-MSG dispute as “ridiculous” and called on “both sides to get back to the negotiating table and resolve this for the good of New Yorkers.”
“Enough is enough!” the Hochul statement read, attempting to channel the exasperation of New York voters.
Hochul, the Knicks, and Dolan
Curiously, however, Hochul’s threat was solely directed at Optimum.
She instructed the Department of Public Service — which oversees the cable industry — to demand that Optimum either offer its customers a “pro-rated refund” or provide an “alternative means” of watching the Knicks and other teams on MSG.
Hochul’s selective scorn may raise eyebrows given that she’s been a recipient of campaign contributions from James Dolan, the owner of MSG and the Knicks.
(MSG Networks is part of Sphere Entertainment Co. — Dolan’s entertainment and live events company. Dolan’s Knicks and Rangers teams are organized separately under Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.)
In 2022, Dolan donated $69,700 to Hochul’s re-election campaign. His political action committee, the Coalition to Restore New York, also spent over $500,000 during that election cycle to boost her campaign.
Those are modest expenses to protect the Dolan-owned Madison Square Garden arena from a state-mandated property tax exemption that saves it tens of millions of dollars each year.
The Industry View on the MSG-Optimum Dispute
Independent observers, however, argue that MSG is leveraging its market dominance to extract excessive fees from cable providers.
Media analysts at Lightshed Partners, for example, state that MSG Networks “has been one of the largest overearners” of regional sports networks — “at a cost of $10-plus per subscriber.”
Dolan was once also on the other side. His family used to own Optimum, which was founded in 1973 by his late father. It was sold to the multinational Altice in 2016.
As Dolan seeks to extract more from Optimum, his Sphere Entertainment, which is behind the Las Vegas Sphere entertainment venue, continues to hemmorhage cash. It recorded a massive $341.2 million loss in the 2024 fiscal year.
At least he’s keeping his hands off the Knicks. (Which helps explain why they’re winning.)
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