NewsNation and network and local programming provided by 63 of Nexstar Media Group’s television stations in 42 markets across the country have gone dark on Altice USA’s Optimum after the two parties failed to reach a new carriage deal prior to their current contract’s expiration on Friday evening.
Nexstar said it has tried to engage in good faith with Altice since October, but that it has refused to so by “repeatedly demanding special terms that are wildly out of step with both our longstanding relationship and the cable television marketplace.”
As a result, more than two million Americans have been “deprived” of “critical local news, the NFL Playoffs, live sports and other entertainment programming, as well as essential alerts regarding winter weather and natural disasters,” the company added.