Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable providerMultiple-system operator and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its existence and in its final years, Cablevision exclusively served customers residing in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and a small part of Pennsylvania. However, at one time it provided service in as many as 19 states. Cablevision also offered high-speed Internet connections (Optimum Online), digital cable (Optimum TV/IO Digital Cable), and VoIP (Optimum Voice) phone service (the eighth-largest telephone provider in the U.S.)Leichtman Research Group, "Research Notes," First quarter 2012, pg. 6, Cablevision (#8) with 2,357,000 residential phone lines. through its Optimum brand name. Cablevision also offered a WiFi-only mobile phone service dubbed Freewheel.
The company also operated Rainbow Media alongside Comcast, Cox Communications, and Daniels & Associates from late 1980 until mid 2011 when Rainbow Media's assets were spun off into a newly established company initially known as AMC Networks (now known today as AMC Global Media), shutting down Rainbow Media in the process.
On June 21, 2016, Cablevision was acquired by European telecom conglomerate Altice. The former Cablevision services operate under Optimum Communications which continues to operate brands Optimum Online, Optimum Voice, and Optimum TV.
History In the mid-1960s, Charles Dolan built a cable system called Sterling Manhattan Cable in the borough of Manhattan and launched Home Box Office (HBO). , The museum of broadcast communications He ended up selling both the cable system and HBO to Time Life Inc. He used the money to start a new cable system in suburban Long Island called CableVision. Cablevision, having changed its name from CableVision, quickly expanded by building on Long Island and acquiring smaller cable systems from other providers. Cablevision also built systems throughout the New York metro area: some of the other boroughs of New York City, New Jersey, Westchester County, and Connecticut.
In the 1980s, Cablevision also expanded into the Chicago, Boston, and Cleveland areas. By the mid-1990s Cablevision would offer service to 2.9 million subscribers in 19 states. Through a series of transactions in the late 1990s, Cablevision consolidated its cable systems into three core areas: New York, Cleveland, and Boston. Despite reducing the number of areas served, they brought the number of subscribers to 3.5 million through these transactions. One major transaction made at this time was with Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI). Cablevision gained 10 New York area cable systems from TCI and in exchange TCI gained 33% ownership in the company. In 1999, AT&T Corporation took over TCI thus giving them the one-third ownership in Cablevision., Cablevision Systems Corp Cooperate History In 2000, Cablevision sold-off its remaining systems outside the New York area in Boston, Cleveland, and Kalamazoo, Michigan to MediaOne, Adelphia, and Charter Communications respectively. As part of the deal, Cablevision traded its Boston area systems for MediaOne's Hudson Valley systems. AT&T sold its share of Cablevision in 2001.
On June 13, 2010, Cablevision announced that it would acquire Bresnan Communications for $1.37 billion. Bresnan provided service to about 308,000 cable subscribers in Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. This is the first time in a decade that Cablevision has owned systems outside the New York area (although Bresnan, like Cablevision, had its headquarters in the New York City suburbs). In May 2011, Cablevision rebranded the Bresnan systems as Optimum West.
On February 8, 2013, Cablevision reached an agreement to sell its Optimum West systems to Charter Communications for US$1.63 billion.
On November 23, 2013, Cablevision laid off 400 employees.
On September 17, 2015, it was announced that Patrick Drahi's European telecom conglomerate Altice would acquire Cablevision for $17.7 billion, including debt, pending regulatory approval. The deal was approved by the FCC on May 3, 2016 and after approval from various regional regulators such as New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities and the New York Public Service Commission, closed on June 21, 2016. Under the terms of the deal, Altice paid $34.90 in cash for each share in Cablevision and a 22% premium to the company's stock price; Altice also assumed Cablevision's debt. The former assets of Cablevision operate as Optimum Communications.
Role in the West Side Stadium debate In 2004 and 2005, Cablevision provided funding for an advertising campaign against the proposed construction of a stadium on the West Side of Manhattan supported by the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. The stadium would have principally served the New York Jets, and was an essential part of New York City's failed bid for the 2012 Olympics. Cablevision had offered a competitive bid that far exceeded the bid of the Jets for property owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where the new stadium would have been located. The plans to build the stadium were abandoned in June 2005 when the New York State Assembly under the leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver refused to provide state subsidies for the project.
Philanthropy In 1998, Cablevision helped found The Lustgarten Foundation, which has become the largest private foundation dedicated solely to funding pancreatic cancer research in America. The foundation was named after former Cablevision chairman Marc Lustgarten and has raised over $16 million. Cablevision currently underwrites the foundation, covering all administrative and fundraising costs, allowing 100% of all donations to go directly to research programs and grants to help cure pancreatic cancer, as well as sponsoring dozens of walks/runs across the country. The foundation is a 4-star charity on Charity Navigator, ranking at this level for its organizational and financial transparency, low administrative costs, board, and growth.
The Madison Square Garden Company In 1994, Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western), the owner of Madison Square Garden, was acquired by Viacom, who in turn sold the MSG properties to Cablevision and ITT Corporation, which had 50% ownership each. ITT would sell its share to Cablevision three years later.
On February 9, 2010, Cablevision spun off its subsidiary Madison Square Garden, L.P. into a new company named The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG). Although a separate company, it was run by the Cablevision CEO, James Dolan. He remained an important figure in both companies until Cablevision's sale in 2016, and continues to head MSG. The company has three divisions consisting of professional sports teams, two regional sports networks, and several entertainment venues.
MSG controls its namesake Madison Square Garden arena in New York City, and the professional sports teams that play there: the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. The same company also owns the Hartford Wolf Pack, a Hartford, Connecticut based minor-league professional hockey team affiliated with the Rangers.
MSG also holds the TV rights for the Knicks, Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and New York Red Bulls through their cable channels MSG Network, MSG Plus (formerly FSN New York), and MSG Western New York. Cablevision previously had the rights to the New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets and New York Mets, who left to start their own channels. Cablevision also previously attempted to purchase the Yankees, Mets and Boston Red Sox, in part, to control their broadcast rights.
Other properties that are owned by MSG include the Beacon Theatre, The Theatre at Madison Square Garden (formerly known as Felt Forum, Paramount and WaMu Theatre), and a long-term lease to operate Radio City Music Hall.
Cable Networks AMC Networks On July 1, 2011, Cablevision spun off its subsidiary, formerly known as Rainbow Media LLC, into a new company named AMC Networks, now known today as AMC Global Media. It owns several national cable networks including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, and WE tv. Wedding Central, a cable channel that was launched as a spin-off of WE tv in 2009, was also run by Rainbow Media. However, upon AMC Networks achieving its independence of Cablevision, the channel was shut down due to low ratings.AMC Networks Divorces Wedding Central Multichannel News July 8, 2011 Rainbow Media also controlled Fuse TV until 2010, when ownership was transferred to Cablevision's Madison Square Garden division, now operating independently as The Madison Square Garden Company (see above). The Rainbow Media subsidiary of Cablevision also operated a satellite television company called Voom, which was shut down on April 30, 2005, but lived on as a series of high-definition television channels named Voom HD Networks. They were available on Cablevision and iO digital cable until January 21, 2009. However, the 15 U.S. channels were eventually also shut down due to lack of distribution prior to the spinning off of Rainbow Media from Cablevision as the independent AMC Networks., Cable Rant, January 21, 2009
SportsChannel Cablevision also owned the former SportsChannel America from its beginning in 1976 until it was dissolved into Fox Sports Net in the late 1990s. In 2007 Cablevision sold its control of FSN Bay Area and FSN New England to Comcast for $570 million.Comcast, Cablevision in deal on 2 sports networks, Yahoo!, April 30, 2007 These were the last of their regional sports networks outside the New York area.
Other properties Cablevision acquired the New York-area electronics chain The Wiz in 1998. The chain was closed in 2003. Since then the name was sold to P. C. Richard & Son and currently remains as a dormant subsidiary of the company only showing Wiz Deals on some P.C. Richard items.
From 1998 until April 29, 2013, Cablevision owned New York-area cinema chain Clearview Cinemas. It was sold to Bow Tie Cinemas of Connecticut.
On July 29, 2008, Cablevision acquired Newsday and amNewYork in a deal worth $650m.Cablevision announces deal to buy Newsday , Newsday, May 12, 2008Cablevision Completes Newsday Buy from Tribune, Broadcasting and Cable, July 29, 2008 The Dolan family maintained majority ownership of Newsday, with Altice USA having a 25% share until the properties were sold in 2023.
Carriage disputes
MSG Network From September 1988 through July 1989, Cablevision did not carry MSG Network (at the time owned by Gulf+Western, which later became Paramount Communications) over the question of whether MSG should be offered as a basic service or a premium service. This move also occurred as New York Yankees games on cable moved to MSG from Cablevision-owned SportsChannel. The Cablevision position was that those who wished to pay for sports programming should shoulder the burden, not every consumer. This dispute ended with Cablevision offering MSG as a premium subscription service.
YES Network Cablevision did not carry most of the games of the New York Yankees in 2002, because they would not accept the price asked during the inaugural season of YES Network. Again, at the root of the argument was who was to pay for sports programming. Cablevision wanted to offer YES as a premium service, like MSG and Fox Sports NY, where YES ownership wanted the channel on the 'Family Cable' tier. After a long standoff, a deal was made the following year. As a result, YES, along with MSG and Fox Sports NY, moved to the 'Family Cable' Tier.
NFL Network