Dutch telecommunications giant Altice today officially completed its acquisition of New York-based cable company Cablevision Systems Corporation.
The transaction, which includes Cablevision’s 3.1 million customers throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as regional news channel News 12 Networks and newspapers Newsday and amNewYork, was approved by Cablevision shareholders and has now met federal, state and local regulatory approval. The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale in May.
Altice in September entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cablevision for $17.7 billion, a buy that included taking on Cablevision’s massive debts, which stood at $7.43 billion as of December 31. Now-defunct Cablevision, which had been owned by the Dolan family since its founding in 1973, employed about 14,000.
A new entity, Altice USA, now comprises the forth-largest cable operator in the country, with more than 4.6 million subscribers across 20 states. It includes St. Louis-based Suddenlink Communications, which has 1.5 million subscribers. Altice acquired a 70 percent majority stake in Suddenlink last year for $9 billion.
The new cable operator has also now named its U.S. executive leadership team. Dexter Goei, who was previously Altice chief executive officer, has now been named chairman and CEO of Altice USA, as well as Altice N.V president. Charles Stewart has been appointed Altice USA co-president and CFO, and Hakim Boubazine has been named co-president and COO.
In light of the appointment, Goei has been succeeded by Altice chief operating officer Michel Combes, who now takes the Altice CEO spot.
The appointments are effective immediately.
Altice was founded in 2001 by French billionaire Patrick Drahi. The Woerden, Netherlands-based company employs more than 55,000 globally.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
