WASHINGTON—Last week Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the “Stop Sports Blackouts Act” to make cable and satellite companies refund customers who aren’t able to watch the channels they already pay for during television blackouts.
The proposed legislation is just the latest attempt on the part of lawmakers to intervene in conflicts between multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) and broadcasters and other content providers that all too often result in cable and satellite companies dropping channels after negotiations break down.
In introducing the act, the legislators point to a dispute between Optimum and MSG Network, affecting over a million customers in the Tri-State area who have been unable to watch the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils. A separate blackout has left Optimum customers unable to watch Judy Justice and local news for over 10 days, they said.
From 2010-2024, the two Congressmen said New Yorkers experienced a total of 100 blackouts for a total of 3,350 days when consumers were blocked from viewing content they had paid for.
Ryan, who claims to be a champion of consumer protection in entertainment, previously demanded an investigation into blackouts and slammed sports leagues for making it more difficult for fans to watch games.
“It’s outrageous that millions of folks couldn’t watch the Knicks, Judy Justice, or dozens of other programs for weeks because of blackouts,” Ryan said. “And it’s even more ridiculous that we’re all still paying for the right to stare at black screens! I don’t see why this is even a debate – cable companies simply should not be able to advertise and charge for services they are not providing.
“On behalf of fans across the country, we’re putting down a marker: everyone will get their money back when a blackout stops them from watching TV, no questions asked,” he continued. “That means dollars back in your pockets, and, equally importantly, it provides a hell of an incentive to these billion dollar corporations to make sure these blackouts don’t happen in the future. They have teams of lobbyists looking out for them—I’m introducing this legislation because I fight for YOU.”
“Blackouts are a slap in the face to every customer paying their hard-earned money for TV shows they can’t even watch,” said Sen. Murphy. “It’s ridiculous the rest of us get stuck in the crossfire of negotiations between cable and broadcast companies. Our bill is simple: if cable companies can’t provide the service you’re paying for, they owe you a refund.”
On January 1, 2025, Optimum and MSG Network announced that they were unable to renew their distribution agreement, leaving subscribers unable to watch NBA and NHL games in the middle of the season. On Jan. 10, Optimum subscribers were subjected to an additional blackout when the company announced it had failed to come to an agreement with Nexstar Media, which owns the syndication rights to popular show “Judy Justice,” starring Judge Judy Sheindlin, as well as the NewsNation network.
Congressman Ryan and Sen. Murphy’s “Stop Sports Blackouts Act” would direct the Federal Communications Commission to require television distributors to provide rebates to subscribers for television blackouts that occur as a result of carriage disputes.
Last month, the FCC passed a rule requiring cable and satellite pay TV operators to report commercial broadcast station blackouts that last than 24 hours or longer and were caused by failed negotiations over a new retransmission-consent agreement.
The American Television Alliance, a group of small and independent MVPDs, warned that such legislation will only increase prices.
“We agree it’s outrageous when big broadcasters unilaterally remove channels from TV lineups, blacking out content from consumers and depriving paying customers of critical local news coverage, sporting events and entertainment programming,” said ATVA spokesperson Hunter Wilson. “While well-intentioned, this bill will only raise prices for consumers. Blackouts are the result of networks and other big programmers holding their channels for ransom to force pay-tv providers into higher-priced programming deals. Requiring pay-tv providers to pay rebates will only encourage big broadcasters to further increase prices at a time when retransmission consent fees are at record highs.”
“The broken retransmission consent system has led to nearly a thousand TV blackouts in the last decade,” he concluded. “ATVA stands ready to work with Congress to modernize dated regulations that turn sizeable profits for big broadcasters at the expense of consumers.”
