NY Islanders games go dark on MSG Networks amid ongoing dispute with cable provider

You can say that the New York Islanders have been tough to watch lately, but at least you have had a choice! At midnight, Isles games, along with the Knicks, Rangers, and Devils matchups, were removed from Optimum TV as MSG Networks and Altice (Optimum's parent company)remained locked in a carriage dispute, impacting thousands of Islanders fans as 2025 starts.

MSG blasted Optimum for the “exorbitant price increases” for packages that include the network. At the same time, some wonder whether MSG is comfortable pushing more sports fans to their Gotham Sports App, similar to what happened to Comcast customers earlier this season. According to MSG's press release, Optimum had already raised its core TV package, the one that includes sports, from $95 to $140/month, a nearly 50% increase for viewers. The latest package that included MSG would now be offered at $160/month.

MSG released the below statement:

"As a last-ditch effort to save their struggling business at the expense of subscribers, Altice is trying to charge their customers more and give them less. They just raised prices – nearly 50% for current Optimum subscribers and 70% for new Optimum subscribers (after expiration of a promotional offer) for the package that had included MSG Networks – and cut access to the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils and more on MSG Networks.  We offered Altice a number of fair and reasonable proposals that called for Altice to pay us less than last year. Altice rejected all of them, including our offer to keep MSG Networks on the air while we continued to try to reach a deal.  We remain ready to negotiate in good faith."

The network is encouraging its Optimum subscribers to visit KEEPMSG.com  for more information, including how to switch providers or find other options for watching MSG Networks' award-winning programming. One such option is the Gotham Sports App, which has an annual price of $359.99 and includes the YES Network for New York Yankees games. The MSG Networks-only package on the app can be purchased for $279.99 per year, $29.99 per month, or $9.95 per game.

The Islanders host Toronto on ESPN+ on Thursday night. Their next game scheduled to be on MSG Networks is Sunday vs. the Boston Bruins.