Saying customers in New York are missing some of the biggest sporting events of the year, including the U.S. Open and this coming Monday’s Jets-Bills game on Monday Night Football (a game you can listen to on Finger Lakes News Radio 96.3 and 1590, WAUB and 106.3 and 1240, WGVA), Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday directed the Department of Public Service to hold Spectrum accountable and ensure the company delivers refunds for customers without ESPN and other Disney owned channels due to an ongoing corporate dispute.
Nearly 15 million cable viewers nationwide – more than 1.5 million in New York State – lost access to ESPN and other Disney-owned channels on August 31st when Disney and Charter, Spectrum’s parent company, were unable to renew a distribution deal.
“It’s simple: if you pay your cable bill, you deserve to get the services you pay for,” Governor Hochul said. “An ongoing corporate dispute is forcing customers to miss some of the highest profile televised events of the year – the least these companies can do is provide a refund. Disney and Charter must continue negotiating in good faith to ensure affordability and consumer choice. I also urge Disney to continue providing its programming under the terms of the prior agreement while negotiations continue. My Administration is committed to consumer protections for all New Yorkers.”
Governor Hochul is urging the companies to resolve this dispute as soon as possible. As the contract negotiations continue, more customers are becoming aware of the lapse in certain programming and understandably have questions about refunds. New Yorkers have lost access to channels that broadcast a variety of different programming, including some of the highest-profile televised events of the year: the U.S. Open, the Bills playing the Jets on Monday Night Football, and family-friendly shows. The Governor’s directive to the Department of Public Service (DPS) is to reduce confusion and ensure that all customers are refunded. DPS sent a letter to Charter today as part of their efforts to hold the company accountable and swiftly deliver refunds to customers who have been affected by the lapse in Disney-owned programming.
