Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic <\/p>\n
The top prosecutors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut want Altice-owned Optimum cable to either lift the blackout of Madison Square Garden Networks or refund customers who have been unable to access Knicks, Rangers, Devils and Islanders games since the impasse started on New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
New York Attorney General Letitia James, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin co-signed a letter to the cable company on Thursday urging one of the nation\u2019s largest cable providers to make amends with fans. <\/p>\n
\u201cNew York sports fans are being put in the penalty box, forced to shell out their hard-earned money for television channels they cannot even watch,\u201d said James. <\/p>\n
\u201cOptimum customers have paid for channels to watch their home sports teams, but their cable company is not offering these channels while charging them anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
James said she was \u201cdetermined to secure a solution for New Yorkers who have had to endure these unfair blackouts and I urge Optimum and MSG to finally reach a deal so New Yorkers can watch their home teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dispute stems from a contract standoff between Optimum\u2019s parent company, Altice USA, and MSG Networks, which resulted in the removal of key sports and entertainment channels from Optimum cable plans. <\/p>\n
Since Jan. 1, Optimum customers have been unable to access MSG channels, which broadcast games for teams including the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres. <\/p>\n
James had previously urged Altice and MSG to resolve their negotiations swiftly to prevent service disruptions for New York consumers. <\/p>\n
Now, the attorneys general are demanding that Altice issue automatic refunds to customers who paid for channels they can no longer access.<\/p>\n
The attorneys general are calling on Altice to issue refunds automatically, rather than requiring customers to navigate a claims process \u2014 ensuring impacted subscribers receive fair compensation for their lost services.<\/p>\n
As negotiations between Altice and MSG continue, affected customers remain caught in the middle\u2014paying for programming they can\u2019t watch, according to the attorneys general.<\/p>\n
MSG issued a statement praising the attorneys general.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud the Attorneys General in demanding Altice do right by its subscribers and either issue a full refund or immediately reach an agreement to return MSG Networks to Optimum subscribers,\u201d a company rep told The Post.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Optimum provided a statement to The Post in response to the letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOptimum calls on our local Attorneys General to work with us to fix the broken video programming model and ensure consumers have more choice,\u201d a spokesperson for Optimum said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The cable provider said that it has been \u201cfocused on limiting customer disruption by proactively engaging with customers to provide personalized assistance and alternative solutions for sports fans and non-sports fans alike.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom press releases and social media campaigns to customer emails and educational videos, we have been vocal about the options we have available -\u2014 from helping to offset the cost of Gotham Sports or Fubo to transitioning customers to new video offerings that save them an average of $25 per month,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Optimum said it was urging customers \u201cto call or chat with us so that we can listen to their unique needs and assist them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we have repeatedly said, the legacy video model is broken because distributors like Optimum continue to be handcuffed by programmers like MSG Networks who demand we make their content available to the majority of customers, regardless of actual viewer interest,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n
Optimum said that \u201cthis antiquated model\u2026forces high fees and minimum penetration rates\u201d which \u201cdrive up the costs of legacy video packages and gives distributors like us little flexibility to adjust prices \u2013- especially in an evolving TV landscape where consumers now have more choice than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Altice has accused MSG and its chairman, James Dolan, of refusing to pursue an agreement in good faith due to MSG Networks\u2019 ballooning debt burden.<\/p>\n
Last week, The Post reported that the New York-based regional sports network was in talks to reach a deal to avoid bankruptcy and that the media company was courting potential investors including Amazon.<\/p>\n
MSG Networks defaulted on its loans this past fall but lenders have extended the payment deadline multiple times, most recently from Jan. 10 to last Friday at midnight. <\/p>\n
This time, the aim is to reach a deal rather than simply extend the deadline again, sources briefed on the discussions.<\/p>\n
Additional Reporting by Josh Kosman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic The top prosecutors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut want Altice-owned Optimum cable to either lift the blackout of Madison Square Garden Networks or refund customers who have been unable to access Knicks, Rangers, Devils and Islanders games since the impasse started on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":195892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-195891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":195893,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195891\/revisions\/195893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}