Dennis Mathew’s investor conference appearance coincides with M&A chatter that Charter Communications is eyeing an acquisition of the cable TV rival.
Altice Lays Off Up To 40 At News 12
“It was an extremely chaotic day,” says one laid-off staffer of the cuts and how they were handled at the company’s metro New York area news channel.
The cable company acquired the network, once billed as “CNBC for millennials,” in 2019 for $200 million.
The layoffs affected around a dozen employees, a person with knowledge of the situation told Insider on Thursday. One staffer who was affected by the cuts said Manoj Shamdasani, a news-gathering executive at Cheddar’s parent company, Altice USA, informed workers about the status of their jobs.
With their distribution agreement set to expire Friday, Fox and Altice are warning viewers they could be facing a programming blackout Friday at midnight. The dispute over retransmission and cable carriage fees could affect stations including WNYW New York and cable channels FS1, FS2, Fox News, Fox Business Network and the Big Ten Network, and comes at a time when Fox has a heavy sports lineup, including NFL games, college football and Major League Baseball playoffs.
TVNewsCheck’s Michael Depp and Michael Stahl discuss Stahl’s bombshell reporting on News 12’s New York area hyperlocal news channels, where multiple sources allege systemic abuse and a damaged, diluted news product. A full transcript of the conversation is included.
Exclusives
At News 12, Accusations Of Toxicity And Brand Erosion Widen
Multiple former and current employees of News 12’s metro area New York cable news channels tell TVNewsCheck the company is suffering under systemic workplace abuses and that its hyperlocal news value proposition has been deeply compromised. Has the lauded news brand in the nation’s No. 1 market done irreparable, self-inflicted harm?
News 12 New Jersey has seen the recent or impending departures of its news director, assistant news director, two executive producers and a senior producer. Sources inside the Altice-owned cable channel say the exits were spurred by executive micromanagement and mistreatment of employees as well as a deprioritization of local news.
On July 5, Teisha Parker will become the next news director for News 12 New Jersey, the Altice cable news channel. She is a veteran of New England media and journalism […]
ViacomCBS and Altice USA said they reached a new carriage deal that includes the media company’s streaming services as well as its broadcast stations and cable networks.
The FCC has granted the market modification petition of WRNN New Rochelle, N.Y. The FCC’s Media Bureau said Monday that WRNN’s market now includes all of the New York DMA, which means the Altice cable system serving Suffolk (N.Y.), Essex (N.J.), Hudson (N.J.), Monmouth (N.J.), Ocean (N.J.), and Union (N.J.) counties must carry the station.
Nearly a week after their distribution agreement expired, Fox Networks Group and Altice USA have reached a new carriage agreement. The deal includes retransmission consent payments for WNYW New York, and cable networks FS1, FS2, National Geographic Channel and FX.
The Spanish-language broadcaster and the cable operator come to terms, avoiding a blackout.
The $17.7 billion acquisition of Cablevision by France-based telecom giant Altice marked the end of an era for the New York media world in 2016. But the Dolans are not ready to go gentle into that good night, apparently. In a lawsuit filed today in Delaware Chancery Court, the family says Altice violated the merger agreement and also committed fraud, principally for allegedly starving the hyper-local News 12 Networks of resources.
Cable giant Altice, which owns the former Cablevision Systems and a controlling stake in Suddenlink in the U.S., is planning to spin off its U.S. unit. Dexter Goei will continue to serve as CEO and a director of Altice USA, reporting to Altice founder Patrick Drahi who will be chairman of Altice USA.
The cable service will pay more for ESPN and other Disney-owned networks under a tentative contract renewal. Disney shares rose $1.29 on Monday.
Altice Not Just Another Deal For Disney
The prospect of TV channels going dark due to a standoff between a media conglomerate and an MVPD has become so commonplace in recent years that it barely registers anymore. And with less than 4% of Disney’s total TV reach coming through its New York-based cable TV footprint, Altice USA may not have loomed too large as challenges go for Bob Iger. But the implications of Disney reaching agreement on an affiliate-fee renewal Sunday after extended talks with Altice shouldn’t be easily ignored.
Cable operator Altice USA and Disney have reached “an agreement in principle” after days of tense contract talks. Talks between Altice and Disney went down to the wire Sunday afternoon against a 5 p.m. ET deadline for a new carriage agreement to avert a black out of ESPN, WABC-TV New York and other Disney-owned channels on Altice USA’s Optimum platform serving about 2.6 million New York-area subscribers.
Walt Disney Co. is facing a crucial test of the strength of its ESPN sports empire as a New York pay-TV provider is balking at the Burbank entertainment giant’s contract demands, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown. Altice is refusing to meet Disney’s demands to carry ESPN and Disney’s entertainment channels, including ABC, saying Disney is asking for too much money, particularly for ESPN, which has been struggling with subscriber losses and ratings declines.
Disney and the cable company once known as Cablevision are at it again. The two companies, whose fractious carriage negotiations in 2010 resulted in viewers in New York and Connecticut missing 13 minutes of ABC’s broadcast of the Oscars awards ceremonies, are heading for an impasse in current discussions, according to Disney.
The two cable MSOs have rolled out ad campaigns/promotions targeting DirecTV’s DBS service and its DirecTV Now online video service.
Altice advanced its plans to launch a U.S.-based stock today disclosing, in an SEC filing, it expects to sell about 46.6 million shares at between $27 and 31 a share — to be listed at the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ATUS.” At $29 a share, the offering could raise $1.35 billion.
Lawmaker Asks FCC To End WFSB Blackout
A Connecticut state lawmaker has stepped in to try to end a two-month retrans battle that has kept Meredith’s CBS affiliate WFSB Hartford, Conn., off of Altice USA’s Optimum cable system. Sen. Gayle Slossberg is spearheading a petition to have the FCC intervene in the impasse.
Altice USA, the cable operator that Netherlands-based Altice NV put together by acquiring Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications, is drawing up plans for a potential initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
Cablevision Systems Corp. is no more. European telecom conglom Altice said today it has completed its $17.7 billion acquisition of one of the industry’s pioneering cable companies, a deal that makes the newly minted Altice USA the fourth-largest operator in the country. The new company combines Cablevision and Suddenlink, which Altice acquired last year, for a base of 4.6 million subscribers for broadband and video services.
The FCC said late on Tuesday it had approved European telecom group Altice NV’s acquisition of U.S. cable company Cablevision Systems in a $17.7 billion deal that includes assumption of debt. The Dutch firm still needs approval from the state of New York and New York City. If the deal is approved, Altice would become the fourth largest U.S. cable provider. Cablevision has 3.1 million subscribers, mostly in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
French telecom mogul Patrick Drahi has named key members of his U.S. management team now that his Altice conglomorate has closed its $9.1 billion deal to acquire 70% of St. Louis-based cable operator Suddenlink.
The FCC has approved Altice NV’s $9.1 billion purchase of a controlling interest in Suddenlink Communications, clearing Patrick Drahi’s European telecom conglomerate to close on the purchase of the St. Louis-based cable operator.
Founder Patrick Drahi’s strategy in Europe is to turn his company into an essential household utility by offering consumers a “quad play” of one-stop shopping for video, broadband, wireless telecom and land-line telephone services. His play to buy Cablevision is a clear signal that he aims to extend his vision across the Atlantic.
The European telecom giant may think about acquiring smaller operators like Cable One or Mediacom.
France’s Altice has set a rich cash acquisition agreement for Cablevision that promises to make the European telecom conglomorate a player in the U.S. television business. Altice said early Thursday that would pay $34.90 a share in cash for Cablevision, valuing the deal at $17.7 billion including existing Cablevision debt. In May, Altice bought a majority stake in another U.S. operator, Suddenlink.
Luxembourg-based cable and mobile phone operator Altice says it will purchase 70% of Missouri-based Suddenlink with a combined debt and cash offer from existing owners BC Partners and CPP Investment Board, and company management.
