A carriage dispute between Nexstar Media Group and Altice-owned pay-TV system Optimum has left two million subscribers without access to 63 local stations and cable network NewsNation. The impasse began on Monday evening when the networks and stations went dark at 5 p.m. ET.
Nexstar, which owns a significant portion of CW affiliates, is seeking fair compensation for its programming. However, Altice has demanded “special terms that are wildly out of step with both our longstanding relationship and the cable television marketplace,” according to Nexstar.
The dispute comes as college football and NFL playoff games take center stage, but 42 markets across the US are affected by the blackout. Major markets such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas have limited subscribers, while others like New York and Greenville, NC, have a larger presence on Optimum.
Nexstar President and COO Michael Biard stated that Altice’s demands are unreasonable, citing billions in debt burdening the parent company. Optimum claims 90% of customers rarely watch NewsNation, making it unfair to force them to pay for content they don’t use.
Both parties need to resolve their differences, as Optimum has raised rates and dropped channels without competition. The lack of local channel discounts and senior discounts is also a point of contention. Many subscribers are opting out of traditional cable services in favor of streaming options.
“I lost one of my local channels (CBS, Ch. 13) is there another package that has all of my local channels?” one subscriber asked, echoing frustration with the current system. The WPIX station, which has been on the air since 1948, was also impacted by the dispute, leaving many feeling exploited by Optimum’s monopolization of services in their area.
Source: https://deadline.com/2025/01/nexstar-optimum-carriage-dispute-tv-stations-wpix-newsnation-1236254076