“Otherwise, we may need to get involved via passing legislation to require refunds or credits under these circumstances.”
Hartford, CT—Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and a coalition of Fairfield County Democrats called Friday on Altice USA, owner of Optimum, to issue refunds or credits to Connecticut MSG Networks customers, who have been unable to watch their favorite teams for weeks due to prolonged corporate negotiations.
Connecticut fans of the New York Rangers, Knicks, Devils, and other teams have been deprived of critical sports programming due to ongoing disputes between two corporations: Optimum and MSG Networks.
On Friday, Senator Duff, D-Norwalk, along with Senators James Maroney, D-Milford, Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, D-Trumbull, Herron Keyon Gaston, D-Bridgeport, Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, and Pat Billie Miller, D-Stamford, wrote to Altice CEO Dennis Mathew to demand refunds for Connecticut customers.
“Our constituents pay significant amounts of money for the content you and MSG provide, but they have not been able to view the athletic events that give them joy in over five weeks,” the senators wrote. “Despite receiving less than they are paying for, our constituents have not received any compensation for the failure of Altice and MSG to provide what was agreed to.”
The senators stressed that they were not taking sides in the ongoing dispute between MSG Entertainment and Altice. Their most recent letter to the Altice executive followed a similar message to representatives of both companies in late January.
On Friday, the senators said it was time for Optimum to immediately restore viewers’ access to Madison Square Garden channel through Optimum and refund audiences for the services they were not provided for more than five weeks.
“The disagreement between Altice and MSG is harming our constituents, our economy, and your companies,” the senator wrote. “If you cannot settle this disagreement, at the very least you owe it to your customers to compensate them for this loss, which is no fault of their own. Otherwise, we may need to get involved via passing legislation to require refunds or credits under these circumstances.”
Mr. Dennis Mathew
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Altice
1 Court Square
Long Island City, NY 11101
Dear Mr. Mathew:
We are writing to you in follow up to our January 20, 2025 letter asking you and Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG) to put your customers first by coming to an agreement that will benefit all parties regarding the current disagreement between your companies. We have yet to hear back from you on this,
and the disagreement between your company and MSG has not been resolved. We are not taking any side in this dispute, however, in light of the prolonged nature of this dispute, we believe it is time for your company to provide refunds or credits to customers affected by this dispute.
Our constituents pay significant amounts of money for the content you and MSG provide, but they have not been able to view the athletic events that give them joy in over five weeks. Despite receiving less than they are paying for, our constituents have not received any compensation for the failure of Altice and MSG to provide what was agreed to. We ask that in addition to immediately giving viewers access to the Madison Square Garden channel through Optimum, you provide these customers with a refund or credit for not being provided this service for five weeks.
The disagreement between Altice and MSG is harming our constituents, our economy, and your companies. If you cannot settle this disagreement, at the very least you owe it to your customers to compensate them for this loss, which is no fault of their own. Otherwise, we may need to get involved via passing legislation to require refunds or credits under these circumstances.
State Senator Bob Duff, Majority Leader
State Senator James Maroney, 14th Senatorial District
State Senator Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, 22nd Senatorial District
State Senator Herron Keyon Gaston, 23rd Senatorial District
State Senator Julie Kushner, 24th Senatorial District
State Senator Ceci Maher, 26th Senatorial District
State Senator Patricia Billie Miller, 27th Senatorial District
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