Altice USA, Inc., commonly known as Altice, is an American telecommunications provider with headquarters in New York City, owned by the Franco-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi. The company delivers pay television, Internet access, telephone services, and original television content to approximately 4.9 million residential and business customers in 21 U.S. states. Altice USA is based at One Court Square in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The company's operational center is located at Cablevision's former headquarters in Bethpage, Nassau County, New York, on Long Island. With its combined brands, Altice USA is the fourth-largest cable provider in the U.S., serving customers residing in the New York metropolitan area as well as in several Midwestern and Southern U.S. states. As a multiple-systems operator, the company operates the Optimum brand. The company also provides international news through the February 2017 U.S. launch of i24NEWS and local news through News 12 Networks. In November 2016, Altice USA announced a five-year plan for fiber-to-the-home service to build a network capable of delivering 10 Gbit/s broadband speed. In August 2017, the company stated it was on track to reach one million homes by the end of 2018. In June 2017, Altice USA raised US$2.2 billion in an initial public stock offering. In April 2022, Altice USA announced that the company would be rebranding its former Suddenlink brand under the Optimum name.

Products and services

Other properties

History

On May 20, 2015, Netherlands-based French company Altice NV announced that it would enter the U.S. cable market by purchasing Suddenlink Communications, the country's 7th-largest cable provider, for $9.1 billion. The acquisition closed on December 21, 2015. On September 17, 2015, Altice NV announced its intention to acquire Cablevision from the Dolan family and other public shareholders for $17.7 billion. 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. Prior to this, Altice had already acquired St. Louis-based Suddenlink Communications, and both companies became subsidiaries of Altice USA. In May 2017, Altice USA announced its intention to rebrand its Suddenlink and Cablevision properties under the Altice name by the end of the second quarter of 2018. In June 2017, Altice USA went public, raising $2.2 billion in its initial public offering. On January 8, 2018, Altice NV announced that it will spin-off Altice USA into a separate company. Patrick Drahi will maintain control of both companies, although they will be led by separate management teams. On April 30, 2019, it was announced Altice USA was buying Cheddar for $200 million in cash. On February 14, 2020, Altice USA announced that it has bought Service Electric Broadband Cable in New Jersey. The deal closed in July. On March 1, 2021, Altice USA announced that it would acquire Morris Broadband in North Carolina for $310 million which was later closed on April 6, 2021. Altice later announced that Morris Broadband would be rebranded into the Optimum name.

Markets

The company provides service in 22 states: • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Connecticut • Idaho • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Massachusetts • Mississippi • Missouri • Nevada • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Texas • Virginia • West Virginia

Carriage disputes

AMC Networks dispute

Altice engaged in a carriage dispute with the Dolan family (the former owners of Cablevision). Altice's contract to carry AMC Networks group of channels was to expire on December 31, 2016. On December 28 the two sides reached an agreement, three days before their contract with AMC expired.

The Walt Disney Company dispute

Altice engaged in a dispute with The Walt Disney Company; the contract to carry the company's channels was set to expire on October 1, 2017. On October 1, 2017, Disney and Altice reached a last-minute agreement to continue carrying the company's channels; this narrowly averted what would have been a blackout of ABC-owned stations WABC-TV and WPVI-TV, along with the ESPN family of networks and various other channels. As part of the agreement, ESPN Classic was removed from the Altice lineup.

Starz dispute

On January 1, 2018, Altice dropped Starz, Starz Encore, and all of their channels from its channel lineup. The dispute came after the companies were unable to reach an agreement. The dispute ended on February 13, 2018, after both companies reached a new multi-year agreement.

21st Century Fox dispute

On September 22, 2018, 21st Century Fox announced that all of its entertainment and sports channels, including Fox owned-and-operated station WNYW and MyNetworkTV O&O WWOR-TV, would be removed from Altice on October 1 if a new retransmission agreement was not reached by that date.

Controversies

West Virginia Suddenlink Investigation

Connecticut Network Enhancement Fees