NY Sports Fans, sick of paying inflated prices for a bunch of channels you don’t want, just so you can watch your Knicks, Jets, Giants, Rangers, Yankees, or Mets? You’re not alone. Millions of fans across the nation remain trapped in a game rigged by media giants who force TV providers to cram a bunch of channels no one wants into overpriced, overstuffed channel bundles, forcing you, the sports fan, to pay more than you should.  And when distributors refuse to pay the ransom demanded by big media companies, the result can be a total black out, robbing sports fans –who just want to see the games– of both their money and their sports.

Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the current status of the sports streaming market. The witnesses were representatives from the NBA, MLB, and the NHL, and John Bergmayer who is the Legal Director for Sports Fans Coalition ally Public Knowledge. 

Tri-state sports fans gained three new champions this week when NY Attorney General Letitia James, along with CT Attorney General William Tong and NJ Attorney General Matthew Platkin demanded that Altice USA's Optimum cable service issue automatic refunds to customers deprived of MSG Networks due to an ongoing blackout. For the last several weeks, SFC has also called for refunds to sports fans.

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. 

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.