Fair Media CouncilCiting “grave concern for the public interest, public safety and the local economy,” the Fair Media Council says it opposes the $17.7 billion purchase of Cablevision by Altice.

Jaci Clement, CEO of FMC, Bethpage, comprised of nearly 200 companies and institutions dedicated to fostering media fairness, said Altice CEO Patrick Drahi is promising $900 million in cost cuts at Cablevision, which posted net debt of $7.43 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015. It has $5.04B negative net equity.

Drahi is taking particular aim at 300 Cablevision employees who are said to make more than $300,000 yearly. “This we will change,” he has said. That total would be $90 million+.

Jack ClementJaci Clement

Altice has also proposed $315M reductions in network and operations; $135M cuts to eliminate duplicative functions and public company costs, and $135M in other unspecified costs.

Cablevision’s current 14,000 employees may not be future Altice employees, Clement has said. Any informal agreements will be at risk and Cablevision employees have no ability to make promises of what the future will hold, she said.

FCC, NY State Review Deal

The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the proposed merger.

FMC, in a Feb. 5, 2016 filing with the New York State Public Service Commission, expressed “no confidence” in the proposed sale of Cablevision and said Altice’s strategy amounted to little more than profit margins gained through cost-cutting measures.

A conference call hosted by Altice with investors said Altice will “dramatically cut expenses” –by hundreds of millions of dollars—within an eight-month time frame with more expense cuts to follow, according to a statement by FMC.

FMC calculates the debt load in the deal at “about $15 billion.”

“It is incomprehensible that such a high-risk sale shall be approved for one of the region’s biggest employers, with nearly 14,000 workers, and an economic engine for New York,” said Clement.

FMC says that the City of New York and the Communications Workers of America are also opposing the deal.

Cablevision HQFMC Opposed Cablevision Newsday Deal

FMC had opposed the takeover of Newsday by Cablevision in 2008, saying it put “too much power into too few hands.” Such consolidation leads to “diminishing the quality and quantity of local news,” she said.

“Since that time, Newsday has changed mightily,” she added. “What’s to become of Newsday, in all this hullabaloo surrounding Altice. No one has specified.”

Newsday, the biggest paper on Long Island, has circulation of 420,000. Also involved in the proposed sale to Altice is News 12 Networks and amNewYork.