Connecticut Senator, N.Y. House Member Seek ‘Sports Blackout’ Stop

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KINGSTON, N.Y. — A Democratic Congressman serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York and the Democratic Senator serving the Constitution State have introduced legislation in Congress that would force MVPDs to refund customers who are not able to watch “channels they already pay for during television blackouts.”


What’s prompted Pat Ryan and Chris Murphy to team up on the legislation? Look no further than the Altice USA-owned cable TV service that dominates much of Western Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y., and the regional sports network home to four New York-area pro sports teams.

Ryan has introduced the “Stop Sports Blackouts Act” in the House of Representatives, while Murphy introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

As Ryan explained, the action comes as, for more than four weeks, Optimum customers have been unable to tune to MSG Network channels due to a carriage agreement impasse. With MSG and MSG+ home to the New York Knicks, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, that’s a big loss in an area of Upstate New York where DirecTV and Dish are the only other options for receiving the RSN without considering a “virtual MVPD” service such as Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV.

Ryan, who has previously demanded an investigation into blackouts and slammed sports leagues for “making it more difficult for fans to watch games,” also referenced a recent short but bitter battle between Optimum and Nexstar Media Group that led to the blocking of NewsNation and WPIX-11 in New York, by law, to constituents for some 10 days.

Ryan commented, “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.”

That’s why Ryan says he and Murphy are “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.”

Murphy added, “Blackouts are a slap in the face to every customer paying their hard-earned money for TV shows they can’t even watch. It’s ridiculous the rest of us get stuck in the crossfire of negotiations between cable and broadcast companies. Our bill is simple: if cable companies can’t provide the service you’re paying for, they owe you a refund.”

A copy of the Stop Sports Blackouts Act is still forthcoming. According to Ryan, the proposed legislation would direct the FCC to require TV distributors to to provide rebates to subscribers for television blackouts that occur as a result of carriage disputes.

In a statement supplied to RBR+TVBR, a MSG Networks spokesperson commented, “It’s not surprising that elected officials are engaged and standing up for their constituents. We appreciate Senator Murphy and Congressman Ryan’s efforts to fight for sports fans who are stuck paying for content they aren’t receiving, while Altice pockets their money.  It’s time for Altice to do what’s right and agree to binding arbitration so that sports fans can again begin to watch games of their favorite teams.”

Pro-MVPD lobbying group American Television Alliance was quick to react to the proposed legislation.

“We agree it’s outrageous when big broadcasters unilaterally remove channels from TV lineups, blacking out content from consumers and depriving paying customers of critical local news coverage, sporting events and entertainment programming,” said ATVA spokesperson Hunter Wilson. “While well-intentioned, this bill will only raise prices for consumers. Blackouts are the result of networks and other big programmers holding their channels for ransom to force pay-tv providers into higher-priced programming deals. Requiring pay-tv providers to pay rebates will only encourage big broadcasters to further increase prices at a time when retransmission consent fees are at record highs.”

The goal for the ATVA? To work with Congress to “modernize dated regulations that turn sizeable profits for big broadcasters at the expense of consumers.”

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