New York Area NHL Fans Lose Cable Broadcast Access to All Three Hockey Teams
MSG networks has dropped the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils from their broadcasts for certain cable providers as of January 1st.
The cable provider in question is Altice, with their primary service Optimum.
On December 31st, MSG networks put out a statement explaining why they had to end their business relationship with Altice, citing an inability to agree to new pricing structures.
The Nerwork claims that they agree to lower their prices for the cable provider, but unfortunately that was not good enough.
Puck Pros reporter Ant Barberio showcased the impact of this move in their piece on it, revealing that over a million housholds will be affected by the change.
Barberio also notes that the reason for the change is as predictable as the day is long.
MSG claims that the cable provider does not want to pay the rates MSG is asking for when it comes to hosting the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils games.
NHL fans are not the only ones affected by this move either. MSG also hosts several other sports including the NBA, with the New York Knicks.
Comedian Tracy Morgan posted a video to social media disclosing his displeasure that the network has been dropped on Optimum as that is where he watched the games.
Disputes like this are not uncommon, but they always hurt the fan more than anyone else.
This will likely leaves tens of thousands of hockey fans in the tri-state area going elsewhere for their games, possibly even resorting to piracy if they cannot find any other solutions.
As we know, local games are blackout out on services like ESPN+ so that is not a reliable solution for these fans.
Hopefully a real solution will come up soon.
