When Altice dropped MSG Networks from its cable lineups, it left over 1,000,000 of its Optimum prospects with out entry to dwell native video games that includes the Islanders, Knicks, Rangers and Devils.
Photograph by way of Getty Photos
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The media panorama is altering quickly, making it troublesome to maintain up with the fixed shifts—new companies, and even the place and how you can watch a few of your favourite content material. The one fixed is that with rising costs and fractured choices, cable TV prospects are left behind, usually having to pay extra for much less.
Due to this, disputes between cable firms and content material suppliers are more and more commonplace whereas accountability and transparency with prospects are more and more uncommon, as we lately noticed when Altice USA dropped MSG Networks from its Optimum service for subscribers in Nassau County and throughout the tri-state space. Their cavalier motion revealed a whole lack of respect for residents in our neighborhood.
When Altice dropped MSG Networks from its cable lineups, it left over 1,000,000 of its Optimum prospects with out entry to dwell native video games that includes the Islanders, Knicks, Rangers and Devils.
Altice’s rhetoric about why this was mandatory was extra of the identical gaslighting that we’ve seen earlier than—citing “exorbitant fees” and a must preserve costs down for customers. Nevertheless it doesn’t take a lot thought to see how disingenuous this all is and that the one prices Altice is searching for are its personal, because it fails to go on any financial savings to prospects whereas padding its earnings.
It’s exhausting to consider that this anti-consumer habits remains to be tolerated.
Greater than every week since denying its viewers this in style programming, Altice has but to proactively refund its prospects. As an alternative, they solely present some mixture of rebates, reward playing cards and/or billing credit to these prospects who contact them on to complain and are keen to endure extreme wait occasions to attach with an Altice consultant.
Some prospects point out they obtain extra from Altice in the event that they threaten to disconnect and join with an Optimum competitor. If Altice actually revered its prospects and cared about conserving prices down, it will proactively present a full rebate to each single buyer who has seen their native sports activities content material yanked from the airwaves.
And, in fact, that is coming after Altice’s announcement simply final month of great charge will increase, elevating the value of its present packages whereas providing new, supposedly customer-friendly choices that seem to reconfigure channel choices so that almost all customers need to pay considerably extra to obtain the identical content material.
Altice ought to be again on the bargaining desk, working to achieve an settlement that restores MSG Networks for its prospects. Till that content material returns, they need to instantly give the identical full rebates, refunds, and credit to each subscriber who has misplaced MSG Networks programming.
The media trade could also be present process vital change, however that’s no excuse for enormous firms to fully abandon their commitments to their prospects and neighborhood to observe normal, common sense, truthful enterprise practices.
Altice has put its personal backside line above some other consideration, and so they must be held accountable. Prospects ought to get what they paid for, or they need to get their a refund.
Dr. Taylor Darling is a former Meeting member for the 18th District (2019-24), representing inhabitants facilities throughout Nassau County, together with Hempstead, Uniondale, and Roosevelt.
