Comcast drops MSG Network, leaving Knicks fans in the dark

[Halldan1]

MSG Network-Comcast feud gets ugly with Knicks games hanging in the balance

Another promising Knicks season is around the corner – but hundreds of thousands of New Jersey and Connecticut fans may not be able to watch.

nypost.com

By Marc Berman


Another promising Knicks season is around the corner – but hundreds of thousands of New Jersey and Connecticut fans may not be able to watch it due to a dispute between MSG Network and Comcast.

According to a Garden release, Comcast has chosen to drop MSG Network from its Xfinity channel lineup “despite our best efforts to reach a new agreement.’’

If the situation drags on, Comcast subscribers will miss 85 percent of Knicks games. MSG Network will broadcast 70 of the 82 contests – with the rest on national networks.

The disagreement will also affect games for the NHL’s Islanders, Rangers and Devils.

The Knicks begin their preseason Tuesday vs. Indiana and their season opener is Oct. 20 vs. Boston.

MSG Networks released this statement:

“Right when fans are looking forward to the start of the NBA and NHL seasons, Comcast dropped MSG Networks to try to force us to accept terms they’d never agree to for their own regional sports networks, including SNY in New York. They rejected proposals that are consistent with their current deal and deals we have with other major providers, as well as our offer to keep our programming on air under existing terms so we could continue to work on a longer-term agreement.

“And even though they’ve taken away hundreds of live Knicks, Devils, Rangers and Islanders games, they continue to charge Xfinity customers the same monthly rate – in addition to a regional sports fee that they increased 22% in January to more than $10 per month. Comcast’s refusal to negotiate is deeply disappointing.

“Comcast’s actions rob New Jersey and Connecticut sports fans of hundreds of exclusive, live professional games, beginning with tonight’s Rangers / Devils preseason game.”

 

[Halldan1]

The release added that MSG Network encourages fans to visit www.keepmsg.com to demand access to their teams and to learn how to switch providers.


Takes 10 seconds to send an email of complaint. Just hit the above link.

 

[lloyde dobler]

Regional sports networks and the way we are billed for them are a major scam. Imagine being a cable subscriber who doesn’t even like sports. I should add that we are all also paying a ton annually for ESPN.

 

[STLPirate12]

These disputes are always such a headache. The channel owners demand ridiculous price increases to keep offering the same channels and use the chief negotiating tactic of a public hit campaign to spin the tv provider as the bad guy and rile up their customers to complain and threaten to switch. And if you do switch, you're probably only a few months away from them doing the exact same thing to your new provider.

 

[HallGuy23]

If you’re still paying for comcast or optimum cable tv with all their fees, add ons and taxes then you need to get with the times. Dropping them a few years ago was a huge plus for me. Was a minor adjustment but the new services are NO different.

 

[lloyde dobler]

If you’re still paying for comcast or optimum cable tv with all their fees, add ons and taxes then you need to get with the times. Dropping them a few years ago was a huge plus for me. Was a minor adjustment but the new services are NO different.

No matter your provider, you’re still paying for it. There are what, four RSN’s for seven non-NFL major teams in this market?

 

[HallGuy23]

No matter your provider, you’re still paying for it. There are what, four RSN’s for seven non-NFL major teams in this market?

That’s true, however what’s also true is that my TV bill was cut in half and I lost no channels that I watch from major cable providers.

When I switched to Hulu I had Yes(which was then dropped). I still have SNY, MSG, FS1, FS2, BTN, ACCN, SECN, CBSS, all the ESPN’s.

So when they dropped YES it sucked but when you are paying significantly less than what the cable providers charge it’s easier to swallow.. it’s closer to 70% less now that I think about it.

And anybody with half a tech brain knows how to easily watch Yes other ways…

 

[SHUSource]

Also, most providers allow you to purchase different tiers. By me, Fios lets you basically eliminate the sports tier (which was a non-started when my beloved and I started talking about it). But we did wind up downgrading our package, losing a bunch of crap like HGTV, DIY, and such. History Channel was lost too, but small price to pay for paying less of a price. Most of what we watch is streaming anyway; I basically keep cable for the sports package.

 

[TheHall87]

If I recall correctly when the Knicks et al, MSG and the associated regional sports networks were all under the same roof at Cablevision, the parent company never would have played hard ball like this. 🤣

Once upon a time, I was a Cablevision customer and at that time, the NHL went through one of its several recent work stoppages. I asked about getting some sort of refund since games weren't being played and Cablevision refused. Pretty funny since as a team owner, they were holding on to season ticket holder's money for games that weren't being played and still collecting the fees associated with those, at the time, diminished cable packages.

Not to portray Comcast as benevolent by any means but twice in the past year they have given me credits for fees that they were able to claw back from various sports rights holders for events that weren't played during the pandemic.

 

[SHUSA]

youtube tv just had a deadline short term extension with nbc network (nbc, nbc regional, usa, etc) in a huge chest puffing match. if they dont get a new deal done im out

 

[STLPirate12]

youtube tv just had a deadline short term extension with nbc network (nbc, nbc regional, usa, etc) in a huge chest puffing match. if they dont get a new deal done im out

I'm actually kind of rooting against the deal on that one lol. With NBCSN being killed off anyway, the others mean very little too me and I'd rather see the $10/month knocked off the price.

Plus it was really bold of NBC to try to force Peacock Premium on all YouTube TV subscribers.

 

[SHUSA]

I'm actually kind of rooting against the deal on that one lol. With NBCSN being killed off anyway, the others mean very little too me and I'd rather see the $10/month knocked off the price.

Plus it was really bold of NBC to try to force Peacock Premium on all YouTube TV subscribers.

NBC philly is literally the only reason i have yttv. otherwise i agree.

 

[STLPirate12]

NBC philly is literally the only reason i have yttv. otherwise i agree.

I get that. My local regional network is Bally (formerly Fox) Sports, which already screwed over every streaming TV provider. I'm hoping an ESPN+ / VPN combo can still get me my local hockey. We'll see how it works.