LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.—With a deadline looming for inking a new retransmission consent deal with Tegna, the cable operator Optimum has issued a statement, forcefully rejecting what it calls “excessive and unjustified demands from Tegna."
"Tegna is pursuing egregious fee increases that are divorced from market reality, including a massive 30% hike for major network affiliates and a colossal 50% increase for The CW,” the operator said in a press release.
“Optimum will always take a stand for our customers against broadcasters and programmers demanding significantly higher fees for the same content,” Keith Bowen, president of news, programming and business services at Optimum, said. “Tegna is operating as if the market hasn’t changed in 20 years and its request is nothing short of egregious.
TV Tech has reached out to Tegna for comment.
In the Optimum release, the operator also stressed the link between rising retrans fees and consolidation in the broadcast station business. Broadcasters believe consolidation will help them better compete against big tech firms, while pay TV operators believe it will lead to higher prices for programming.
“These demands from Tegna cannot be viewed in isolation; they are directly linked to the looming merger of Nexstar and Tegna and a broadcasting industry that is rapidly contracting into a duopoly,” the release said. “In fact, Optimum’s negotiations with Tegna and Nexstar—with expirations just one week apart—expose the dark side of broadcaster consolidation.
Optimum did not say when its deal with Tegna expired but others have reported the deadline was in December 2025.
Earlier this year, Nexstar's stations were blacked out on Optimum between Jan. 10 and 18, when a new deal was reached.
"Tegna is attempting to lock in skyrocketing rates now, effectively forcing Optimum’s constituents to pre-pay for a merger that will only reduce their choices,” Bowen said. “Optimum is taking this stand not just for today, but to stop a trend where broadcasters use the threat of blackouts to fund their takeover sprees. As broadcasters race to consolidate, they are leaving the consumer behind. Optimum urges policymakers to look closely at how these rate demands serve as a precursor to anticompetitive behavior.”
