Cablevision
by Steven Spohr
Source – Cablevision.com
Founded in 1973, Cablevision Systems Corporation is a leading telecommunications company that primarily offers television, phone, and Internet services to millions in the NY metropolitan area. Initially serving a mere 1,500 customers on Long Island, Cablevision has since expanded to offer WiFi, a leading local newspaper, and business communications solutions to its over 3 million subscribers. Former properties include Madison Square Garden and Rainbow Media Holdings. [1]
Source – Optimum.com
Cablevision's television, phone, Internet, WiFi, and business solutions all operate under the 'Optimum' brand name. These include (but are not limited to) –
Optimum TV – exclusive home of News 12 Networks, a series of local news channels
Optimum Voice
Optimum Online
Optimum WiFi
Optimum Lightpath – a "leading provider of integrated business communications solutions that meets the needs of larger companies" [1]
Source – www.newsday.com/
Cablevision also owns Newsday Media Group, which runs two local papers. Newsday is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper that has been in circulation since 1940. Over 70% of Long Island adults read Newsday, and its articles and reporting have won numerous awards and made it the top paper on Long Island. To provide the most local news possible, Newsday works closely with MSG Varsity (part of the News 12 Networks) to provide detailed coverage of local high school and college sports. amNewYork offers a quick read of city news and events. In addition to the papers, NMG owns Star Community Publishing, which producers weekly shopper publications in Long Island and Queens. It is the largest publisher of its kind in the Northeastern United States. [2]
The Dolan family founded Cablevision and continues to lead the company today. Key personnel include [3] –
Charles Dolan – Founder and Chairman / Source – Sean Smith, The Boston College Chronicle
James Dolan – Chief Executive Officer / Source – Al Iannazzone, Newsday.com
Kristin Dolan – Chief Operating Officer / Source – Variety.com
Brian Sweeney – President / Source – POST Online Media
Gregg Seibert – Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer / Source – Business Wire
Hank Ratner – Vice Chairman / Source – The Madison Square Garden Company
A detailed map of Cablevision's stock pricing in 2014. / Source – Yahoo! Finance
2014 has seen Cablevision's stock (CVC) prices gradually increase throughout the year. Starting the year at $17.22/share, CVC stock stands at $20.32/share as of November 29th. February 3rd saw the year's low of $15.85. Prices peaked in late July, mid-September, and late November. [4]
The following financial information is from Cablevision's Third Quarter 2014 Results.
Net revenue increased 3.7% to $1.62 billion.
Cable advertising revenue grew 6.8%
Average Monthly Cable Revenue per Customer increased 5.7% to $154.50/customer/month. [5]
These figures represent a continued loss of subscribers for Cablevision across the board. Between satellite TV providers, rival phone companies, and the public's shift to watching TV online, Cablevision's audience is becoming fragmented. The company chose to increase its subscription rates in response to decreasing numbers, which is represented by the net revenue and AMCR/C increases. [6]
The latter half of 2014 has been a busy one, with notable hirings, financial news, legal troubles, and more.
August 4th saw Cablevision's announcement that it has hired David Dibble as Chief Technology Officer, a newly-created role. Dibble is formerly of Yahoo!, and his hiring is part of Cablevision's efforts to "become the premier connectivity provider in the market, delivering a peerless customer experience". [7]
A New York Times article revealed a major legal proceeding against Cablevision. The National Labor Relations Board has charged Cablevision CEO James Dolan with "illegally threatening to deny company technicians in Brooklyn a pay increase unless they voted to quit their union". The NLRB also charged Cablevision itself with "illegally [undermining] the union's representation of those workers by sponsoring a nonbinding poll to determine whether they wanted to leave their union", while some workers reported they were being 'spied on' during the vote. Federal law states that such a vote can only be conducted by the labor board, not the company. CEO Dolan fired back, calling the NLRB "a tool of Big Labor" and questioning the validity of its findings. The case is ongoing, and Cablevision has stated it will appeal to federal courts, if necessary. [8]
CEO Dolan has plenty of reasons to be frustrated, especially with his ongoing legal troubles with the National Labor Relations Board. / Source – ESPN.com
Cablevision teamed up with Time Warner Cable to release the first ever "New York Television Audience Insights Report". The report sampled the 3.5 million subcribers of Cablevision and TWC in the New York area, which is half of the TV homes in the region. Its aim was to help advertising and marketing departments and companies get better value out of their advertising purchases. Some key findings include –
74% of all TV programming watched was outside of traditional TV 'prime time' (8-11PM).
On average, a subscriber will only watch 25 channels in a month.
a whopping 90% of all viewing comes from a mere 100 channels. [9]
These new insights will help create better statistics for TV viewership and aid advertisers in spending money more efficiently.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city is planning an extensive new WiFi network across the five boroughs. The project, dubbed LinkNYC, would provide not only free WiFi, but also no-cost domestic calling and video chat. The 10,000 hotspot system would replace the city's decaying network of archaic payphones and operate completely with money generated through advertising. Projected to cost around $200 million, LinkNYC would bring in over $500 million over the next twelve years, according to city officials.
This announcement led some to think Cablevision's Optimum WiFi network would be threatened by this new, massive competition. Cablevision officials have not only dismissed these musings, but have actively worked with New York City on a number of initiatives, possibly including LinkNYC itself. [10]
Mayor de Blasio's ambitious project looks to dramatically improve WiFi services within the five boroughs. / Source – PIX 11
November 22nd
The Lewisboro Ledger revealed that Cablevision has a new deal with the town of Lewisboro (Westchester County). The deal, which primarily concerns franchising fees, has a number of key improvements –
Over $270,000 in new franchising fees are expected in 2015.
Free cable would be provided to 16 municipal and school buildings, including the public library.
New offers would include a senior discount for those aged sixty-five and older.
Town Board meetings would become available for live-streaming.
The town's parks and baseball fields will become WiFi-equipped. [11]
Kids video-on-demand network Kabillion announced a carriage deal with Cablevision. Kabillion, which is the only independently-owned VOD network ranked in the Top 10 Kids Free On Demand list, will now reach over 50 million homes nationwide. The deal is beneficiary to Cablevision too, as Kabillion reports views exceeding 65 million in 2014. [12]
http://www.cablevision.com/about/index.jsp
http://www.cablevision.com/local/newsday.jsp
http://www.cablevision.com/about/leadership.jsp
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=CVC+Interactive#%7B%22range%22%3A%221y%22%2C%22scale%22%3A%22linear%22%7D
http://www.cablevision.com/pdf/news/110614.pdf
http://online.wsj.com/articles/cablevision-subscriber-losses-offset-by-price-increases-ad-sales-1415284257
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/nyregion/labor-board-says-cablevision-chief-tied-raises-to-vote-against-a-union.html?_r=0
http://www.fiercecable.com/story/twc-and-cablevision-team-quarterly-nyc-dma-reports/2014-11-11
http://www.fiercecable.com/story/competition-cablevision-nyc-launches-ambitious-public-wi-fi-project/2014-11-18
http://www.lewisboroledger.com/15707/cablevision-renewal-to-benefit-town/
http://www.cedmagazine.com/news/2014/11/kids%E2%80%99-vod-network-kabillion-lands-deal-with-cablevision
Posted on October 5, 2014 by htfergus
Posted on April 8, 2013 by Margaret Applegate
by Maggie Applegate
This photo is courtesy of Google Images.
Address: 345 Hudson Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10014
Telephone: (646) 862-3400 [1]
In October of 2005, The Weinstein Company, was launched by Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein. The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a privately owned multimedia production and distribution company. These famous brothers are known for founding Miramax Films in 1979. Although Miramax was previously owned by Disney, TWC retained partial ownership as part of a joint venture with an investor group called Filmyard Holding. The company also encompasses Dimension Films, which was founded by Bob Weinstein in 1993. Despite the company's young age, it has released films that have gained both commercial and critical success. TWC won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2011 with The King's Speech and then again in 2012 for The Artist. [2] [3] [4]
Rob Weisbach – President and Chief Executive Officer
Harvey Weinstein – Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
Bob Weinstein – Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
David Glasser – Chief Operating Officer
Dylan Sellers – President of Production and Acquisitions
Meryl Poster – President of Television
The 85th Annual Academy Awards
This photo is courtesy of USAtoday.net
On Thursday, January 10, 2013, Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone announced the 85th Academy Award Nominees. The Weinstein Company was pleased that two of their releases from 2012, Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook were both nominated for Best Picture. Although The Master was not nominated for Best Picture, Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams were all nominated for their acting. TWC was lucky enough to receive nominations in all the major categories. Other nominees included:
Bradley Cooper – Leading Actor for Silver Linings Playbook
Jennifer Lawrence – Leading Actress for Silver Linings Playbook
Robert De Niro – Supporting Actor for Silver Linings Playbook
Christoph Waltz – Supporting Actor for Django Unchained
Jacki Weaver – Supporting Actress for Silver Linings Playbook
David O. Russell was nominated for Best Director for Silver Linings Playbook as well as for Best Adapted Screenplay whereas Quentin Tarantino did not receive a directing nod, but was nominated for the original screenplay of Django Unchained. [5] [6]
Silver Linings Playbook, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, was released in theaters on December 25, 2012. The film centers around a man named Pat (Cooper) who suffers from a mental health disorder. After spending time in a psychiatric ward, Pat returns home to live with his parents, played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver. As Pat strives to cope with his illness as well as the aftermath of his divorce, he is introduced to the vivacious Tiffany (played by Lawrence). The two come to discover that they are just what the other needs in order to pick up and move forward with their lives. [7]
Although Django Unchained was a nominee for Best Picture, Silver Linings Playbook was looked at as more of a contender for taking home the most sought after award in Hollywood. Harvey Weinstein began to push "the only horse" he had left in the race as The Oscars approached. [8]
The Oscars ceremony was on Sunday, February 24, 2013, and as it turns out neither Silver Linings Playbook nor Django Unchained took home the big award of Best Picture as they were beat out by Ben Affleck's Argo. However, both films ended up taking home big awards. Jennifer Lawrence received the Best Actress award. Despite what Weinstein may have expected, Django took home more awards than Silver Linings as Christoph Waltz nabbed his second Academy Award, as did Quentin Tarantino. The Master proved to be the biggest disappointment for TWC, as it did not bring home a single award. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
The results of The Academy Awards surely helped The Weinstein Company at the box office. Silver Linings Playbook did significantly well for The Weinstein Company as it has grossed a total of $226,209,283 worldwide. However Django Unchained once again outdid the company's rom-com, as the twisted Tarantino film generated $416,545,000 worldwide. Despite The Master's critical acclaim, it has only generated $28,258,060 of worldwide revenue. According to IndieWire, The Weinstein Company has grossed a domestic total of $282.4 million so far this year. That is nearly thirty million more than the company generated in the entire year of 2012. [15] [16] [17] [18]
This photo is courtesy of boxofficemojo.com as of April 8, 2013.
Quartet, Dark Skies, Escape From Planet Earth, and The Sapphires have all been released in the past three months and already they are performing fairly well for the company. Quartet is directed by Dustin Hoffman and is a small film that was released in accordance with BBC Films. Dark Skies is a low budget horror film and The Sapphires is an Australian comedy. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
Of these four new releases, Escape From Planet Earth had the largest budget and is the only animated film. As of April 7, 2013, the film had made over $54 million in domestic sales alone, surpassing its production budget. [24]
This photo is courtesy of Deadline.com.
Although The Oscars was an important day for the company's 2012 releases, it was also an important day for future releases. According to Deadline, Harvey Weinstein closed two large business deals on Oscar Sunday, obtaining the distribution rights of Grace of Monaco and Salinger. Grace of Monaco is set to be released on December 27, 2013. It is a biopic following the life of Grace Kelly and will star Academy Award winner, Nicole Kidman. TWC has acquired the domestic rights to the film. Salinger is a documentary about the life of famous author, J.D. Salinger. The film will spotlight Phillip Seymour Hoffman (previously feature in a TWC production) and will be released September 6, 2013. [25] [26] [27]
After the nominations that The Weinstein Company had this Oscar season, it should be of no surprise that Deadline recently released information that the company is closing a deal to distribute a film starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams, both of whom received
This photo is courtesy of imdb.com.
2013 Academy Award Nominations. The film is entitled Big Eyes and will be directed by Tim Burton. Because the film is set to begin production this summer, it may not be until 2014 that viewers can expect to see the film in theaters. The Weinstein Company appears to have no intention of slowing down, an impressive feat for a company that hasn't even been around for a decade. [28]
1. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=21943957
2. http://weinsteinco.com
3. http://weinsteinco.com/about-us/
4. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/30/business/la-fi-ct-miramax-20100730
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/oscars-nominations-2013_n_2435207.html
6. http://www.themasterfilm.com/
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5_FhLaaQQ
8. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/feb/21/harvey-weinstein-oscars-2013
9. http://oscar.go.com/
10. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/24/entertainment/la-et-mn-oscars-2013-academy-awards-20130224
11. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/oscar-winners-2013-full-list/story?id=18570339#.UWJdvxnNf8h
12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDU7zLAd2-U
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq2YFFzwtno
14. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/awards
15. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=silverliningsplaybook.htm
16. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=djangounchained.htm
17. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=themaster.htm
18. http://www.indiewire.com/article/box-office-quarterly-the-winners-and-losers-of-an-underwhelming-2013-so-far
19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSEnh8Hi62E
20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQs3SwCQ15U
21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1NhAUsyslk
22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ljho1cyEfg
23. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=darkskies.htm
24. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=escapefromplanetearth.htm
25. http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/toldja-the-weinstein-company-finds-oscar-candidate-in-grace-of-monaco-december-27-limited-release-set/
26. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2095649/
28. http://www.deadline.com/tag/the-weinstein-company/
Posted in Film Companies, Film Distribution Industry, Film Production Industry, TRF235.1	| Tagged Academy Award, Amy Adams, Big Eyes, bradley cooper, Christoph Waltz, Dark Skies, Django Unchained, Escape From Planet Earth, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquin Phoenix, Kon-Tiki, Nicole Kidman, Nominee, Oscars, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quartet, Robert De Niro, Scary Movie V, silver linings playbook, the master, The Sapphires, The Weinstein Company, Tim Burton, Winner