The Knicks-Rangers game at Optimum was scheduled to go dark on Wednesday as contract negotiations between the cable operator and MSG remain stalled ahead of the deadline before the ball drops.
As of press time Tuesday, neither side is willing to make much of a concession on the freight costs paid by Optimum's parent company, Altice, for broadcasts on MSG Networks, which is run by Knicks and Rangers owner James Dolan. It seems so.
Under the current contract, which expires at midnight, Optimum pays MSGN $10 per subscriber, people close to the matter told The Post.
The cable operator, which serves about a third of the roughly 3 million subscribers in the New York City area, is considering lowering its rates in new contracts.
On Tuesday, MSGN pandered to a proposal it presented several weeks ago that would allow Optimum to move out of the basic tier, meaning subscribers would have to pay extra for the channel, officials said. Ta.
MSGN declined to comment.
Optimum did not respond to requests for comment on the latest proposal.
“MSG Networks is charging exorbitant programming fees, which could result in higher cable bills for our customers,” the company said in a statement Monday.
If a deal isn't reached by midnight, Knicks fans will be left scrambling to find another provider to watch their game against Utah on New Year's Day.
MSG Networks also broadcasts games between the Islanders and the first-place New Jersey Devils, who play the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
More than half of Optimum's customers live in areas covered by Verizon's Fios, officials said.
MSG is also available through the Gotham Sports streaming service for $29.99 per month.
