Fans Fight Back: Over 2,000 Speak Out Against Optimum’s MSG Blackout
Sports fans are fed up—and they’re making their voices heard. More than 2,000 fans have mobilized, sending more than 14,000 emails to lawmakers demanding an end to the outrageous blackout that has kept Knicks and Rangers games off their screens.
Optimum’s Blackout Betrayal: How Consumers are Paying the Price for Altice USA’s MSG Blackout
On January 1, 2025, the carriage agreement between MSG Networks and Altice expired, leaving more than 1 million households across the tri-state area without access to the important local sports they pay for as part of their Optimum cable subscription. That sports programming includes exclusive live coverage of major league sports teams like the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils.
Optimum’s Blackout Betrayal: Sports Fans Deserve Better
Once again, sports fans are being used as pawns in a nearly-month long corporate standoff, and this time, Optimum and its parent company Altice are the culprits. While MSG Networks has made it clear that they are willing to keep the channels live during negotiations, Optimum has chosen to pull the plug—leaving die-hard sports fans in the dark.
This isn’t about fair negotiations. This is about Optimum using sports fans as leverage while they wrangle over dollars and cents. And that’s unacceptable.
SFC Files Amicus Brief in NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Litigation
SFC filed an amicus brief in the ongoing NFL Sunday Ticket antitrust litigation, arguing that the league abuses its antitrust exemption, causing harm to fans nationwide and that the overturning of the multi-billion dollar verdict is wrong. We are outraged that, once again, the NFL may get away with restricting access and charging higher prices, and that fans are left holding the bag, even after the judge affirmed the jury’s verdict that the NFL violated antitrust laws. We can not let the NFL get away with it again!
Fubo throws in the towel despite having the upper hand
In August, Fubo delivered a stunning upset against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery – getting a preliminary injunction granted against the wildly anticompetitive Venu Sports. Now they’ve abandoned the cause altogether, opting to be acquired by Disney instead.
Statement on Including the TICKET Act in the Continuing Resolution
Fans have long called for all-in pricing and an end to deceptive ticketing practices. The four corners agreement on the TICKET Act represents a strong, commonsense approach to ticketing legislation that answers this call. SFC believes it should be included in the Continuing Resolution. The 118th Congress gaveled in with a hearing about how the Ticketmaster monopoly has ruined the live event ecosystem for fans. Now, Congress can gavel out by passing the most comprehensive ticketing reforms in nearly a decade.
