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Optimum restores Nexstar channels as carriage dispute ends

An Optimum customer service center located in New Jersey.
An Optimum customer service center located in New Jersey. (Photo by Jonathan Schilling via Wikimedia Commons, Graphic by The Desk)

Altice USA’s pay television provider Optimum TV has settled its distribution dispute with Nexstar Media Group, restoring around five dozen local stations and the cable news channel NewsNation to its platform.

Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed in a press release on Saturday, but Optimum previously accused Nexstar of attempting to charge higher fees for its channels and for attempting to renegotiate carriage of a Phoenix-area CW Network affiliate that it does not outright own.



A spokesperson for Optimum said the new agreement “puts customers first and allows them to have more flexibility and optionality when choosing their desired content.” It wasn’t exactly clear if that meant customers would be able to add or remove certain channels owned by Nexstar. The company previously accused Nexstar of demanding more money for NewsNation, despite its relatively low viewership on Optimum TV.

The dispute with Nexstar was the second to afflict Altice USA since the start of the new year. On January 1, the company was forced to remove MSG Networks from its cable systems in the New York City area after a distribution agreement with Sphere Entertainment lapsed. Altice USA’s New York cable system was previously co-owned by the company that founded MSG Networks.



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Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.
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