By Hank Russell
After complaints about the relocation of Public, Education & Government (PEG) channels to near the bottom of the lineup, a cable company has reversed course and returned the channels back to its original lineup.
Optimum has returned the PEG channels back to Channel 18 after spending approximately one month on Channel 1310 with other public access channels.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico received an email from Altice USA (formerly Optimum) last month that the move was made “effective immediately,” he said. Viewers who turned on Channel 18 saw a message from Altice USA noting that the channel was no longer in operation and, instead, would be seen on Channel 1310.
LILP reached out to Altice USA regarding the return of the PEG channels to Channel 18. This reporter was sent a letter from Altice USA Vice President of Government Affairs Chris Brennan.
In the letter to the state Public Service Commission and obtained by LILP, Brennan said Altice USA “received feedback from local municipalities and other stakeholders who expressed concerns regarding the changes. After careful consideration of this input, while Optimum continues to believe that the changes would have provided benefits to customers, the Company has decided to return PEG channels to their prior channel positions, on or about September 16, 2025.”
On September 19, Panico received an email from Altice USA announcing the switchback to the original lineup. (Brookhaven’s Channel 18 shows government meetings, as well as “Supervisor Panico On The Air” along with “Brookhaven Today.”)
“We, along with other Suffolk County towns, protested the move to such a high and less-visible channel after numerous viewer complaints, and after an official protest was lodged with the New York State Public Service Commission,” Panico said in a statement. }We thank Altice USA for reconsidering their channel reassignment and commend them for placing town public access back in an easily accessible viewer platform.”
“Optimum values the perspectives of its municipal partners and customers and takes the feedback received seriously,” Brennan said in a letter to the PSC. “The Company will continue to review its channel lineups on an ongoing basis to ensure that lineups are managed in a way that balances customer needs, operational considerations, and the evolving programming landscape, and may revisit channel positioning at a future date.”