MSG Networks Returns to Optimum: NY Islanders Games Back on TV for Playoff Push

The NHL regular season resumed and so has New York Islanders broadcasts on Optimum.

Islanders fans who subscribe to Optimum cable can finally watch their team again, as MSG Networks and Altice USA have agreed to restore the network’s channels. The deal, announced by MSG Networks on social media Saturday, brings MSG, MSG Sports Net, and the MSG+ streaming service back to Optimum for the first time since the contract between the two companies expired on December 31, 2024. The channels returned to the cable provider on Saturday afternoon, just in time for game between the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres.

"MSG Networks and Optimum would like to thank everyone for their patience as we partnered to reach this new agreement to benefit our fans and Optimum subscribers," the companies said in a joint press release. The blackout had left Optimum subscribers unable to watch the Islanders and other local teams like the Rangers, New Jersey Devils, and New York Knicks. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The timing of the agreement is crucial for Islanders fans as the team continues its push through the second half of the NHL season. With MSG Sports Net back on Optimum, subscribers can watch the Islanders take on the Dallas Stars on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at UBS Arena.

“After 52 days in the penalty box, New York sports fans will finally be able to watch the Knicks, Rangers and Islanders again," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement Saturday. She said the agreement came after she had the state Department of Public Service seek hearings "on how consumers are being shortchanged by weeks of corporate bickering."

This resolution comes as a relief to many in the New York hockey community, particularly Islanders fans who have been forced to find alternative ways to follow their team (e.g., Gotham Sports App). or not watch at all. With the network restored, fans can focus on the action on the ice as the Islanders fight for a playoff berth over the final 27 games of the regular season.