End blackouts for all! So Says Congressman Pat Ryan and Senator Chris Murphy.
End blackouts for all! So Says Congressman Pat Ryan and Senator Chris Murphy.
Friday marks the 31st consecutive day that New York Islanders fans, along with fans of the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, and New York Knicks with Altice, have been unable to watch their favorite sports team.
In an effort to compensate paying Optimum customers for their inability to watch MSG Networks, Congressman Pat Ryan and Senator Chris Murphy introduced the "Stop Sports Blackouts Act," which will force cable companies to refund customers for television blackouts.
Here's a portion of the press release:
-Today, Congressman Pat Ryan and Senator Chris Murphy introduced the “Stop Sports Blackouts Act” to make cable companies refund customers who aren’t able to watch the channels they already pay for during television blackouts.
For over four weeks, due to a dispute between Optimum and MSG Network, over a million customers in the Tri-State area have been unable to watch the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils, while a separate blackout left Optimum customers unable to watch Judy Justice and local news for over 10 days.
Tens of millions of Americans per year are victim to blackouts – with no requirement that they receive compensation. Ryan, a champion of consumer protection in entertainment, previously demanded an investigation into blackouts and slammed sports leagues for making it more difficult for fans to watch games.
“It’s outrageous that millions of folks couldn’t watch the Knicks, Judy Justice, or dozens of other programs for weeks because of blackouts. And it’s even more ridiculous that we’re all still paying for the right to stare at black screens! I don’t see why this is even a debate – cable companies simply should not be able to advertise and charge for services they are not providing,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “On behalf of fans across the country, we’re putting down a marker: everyone will get their money back when a blackout stops them from watching TV, no questions asked. That means dollars back in your pockets, and, equally importantly, it provides a hell of an incentive to these billion dollar corporations to make sure these blackouts don’t happen in the future. They have teams of lobbyists looking out for them – I’m introducing this legislation because I fight for YOU.”
A copy of the legislation can be found HERE.
MSG Networks remains willing to negotiate, even if it's just a short-term extension:
In a previous press release by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Congressman Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey, they shared the following statement:
"Consumers should not pay the same fees for diminished service, and providers should proactively issue rebates when significant content…is removed.’ Instead, Altice is pocketing the money to the tune of more than $120 million in annual fees they should be reimbursing customers for the MSG Networks and other programming they are no longer carrying. They have already taken more than $5M in just two weeks by cutting off MSG Networks and keeping their subscribers’ money. This is unacceptable."
When will this finally end? And when will Altice bring MSG Networks back to their sports crazed customers?
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