Full Description

Cablevision Systems Corporation (Cablevision), through its subsidiary, CSC Holdings, Inc. (CSC Holdings), is a cable operator in the United States. The Company operates cable programming networks, entertainment businesses, telecommunications companies and newspaper publishing business. As of December 31, 2008, the Company served approximately 3.1 million basic video subscribers in and around the New York City metropolitan area. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC (Rainbow Media Holdings), Cablevision owns interests in companies that produce and distribute national entertainment and regional news programming services, the Madison Square Garden sports and entertainment businesses and cable television advertising sales companies. Through Cablevision Lightpath, Inc. (Lightpath), its wholly owned subsidiary, the Company provides telephone services and Internet access to the business market. In addition, the Company owns approximately 97.2% of Newsday LLC, which operates a newspaper publishing business. The Company operates in four segments: Telecommunications Services, Rainbow, Madison Square Garden and Newsday. On July 29, 2008, the Company acquired 97% interest in Newsday Media Group through the formation of a new partnership with Tribune Company. In October 2008, the Company's Optimum Lightpath division acquired 4Connections LLC.

Telecommunication Services

Cablevision's Telecommunications Services segment includes CSC Holdings’ cable television business, including its video, high-speed data, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and the operations of the commercial data and voice services provided by Optimum Lightpath. Cablevision’s cable television systems offer varying packages of service marketed under the Optimum and iO brand names, which may include, among other programming, local broadcast network affiliates and independent television stations, certain other news, information and entertainment channels, such as CNN, CNBC, ESPN, and MTV, and certain services, such as HBO, Showtime, The Movie Channel, Starz/Encore and Cinemax. The Company also offers iO-branded digital video service, which enables customers to receive video-on-demand and subscription video-on-demand services, as well as additional viewing channels. The Company’s cable television revenues are derived principally from monthly fees paid by subscribers. In addition to recurring subscriber revenues, it derives revenues from the sales of pay-per-view movies and events, video-on-demand and subscription video-on-demand program services, from the sale of advertising time on advertising supported programming and from installation and equipment charges.

Cablevision Systems Corporation provides high-speed data services using its cable television broadband network. Data services are provided to customers through a cable modem device. The data service, marketed as Optimum Online, served approximately 2.5 million subscribers at December 31, 2008. In addition, the Company offers Optimum voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technology services to Optimum Online subscribers. As of December 31, 2008, the Company provided Optimum Voice services to approximately 1.9 million customers for an overall penetration rate of 39.7% of the homes passed by its cable television network.

Through Optimum Lightpath, a business broadband service provider, the Company provides telecommunications services to the business market in the greater New York City metropolitan area. Lightpath provides converged data, Internet and voice solutions to mid-sized and large businesses, hospital systems, municipalities and school systems. Optimum Lightpath has built a fiber optic network extending more than 3,500 route miles (184,000 fiber miles) throughout the New York Metropolitan area. Optimum Lightpath provides Metro Ethernet services that support a variety of business applications. Optimum Lightpath provides advanced Metro Ethernet services that support a variety of business applications. Metro Ethernet enables organizations to replace older phone line technology with a single Internet protocol (IP)-based solution that satisfies their telecommunications needs, including voice, video, data and Internet. As of December 31, 2008, Optimum Lightpath serviced 3,200 buildings.

The Company’s cable television systems offer a government-mandated broadcast basic level of service, which includes local over-the-air broadcast stations, such as network affiliates (such as ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX), and public, educational or governmental channels. iO, TV, the Company’s digital video service, is available to Cablevision’s entire service area. In 2008, it had approximately 2.8 million iO subscribers. iO Gold features over 310 all digital channels, including more than 50 premium movie channels and 68 high-definition television programming services. iO Silver, priced at $72.95 per month, includes everything in iO Gold except for NBA TV, Flix and premium movie channels from Showtime, Cinemax and The Movie Channel.

Optimum Online is Cablevision’s high-speed Internet access for the home. Optimum Online connects customers to the Internet using the same network that delivers its cable television service. It is faster than digital subscriber line (DSL) and traditional dial-up services. Optimum Online is available to Cablevision’s entire service area. Optimum Voice is a VoIP service available to Optimum Online subscribers that offers unlimited local, regional and long-distance calling within the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada with calling features at one flat monthly rate. Optimum Voice includes the calling features, plus My Optimum Voice, such as Call Waiting, Caller Identification (ID), Caller ID Blocking, Call Return, Three-Way Calling, Call Forwarding, Anonymous call Blocker, Anonymous calling, Find me, Call waiting with caller ID, Busy Redial and VIP Ringing.

The Company offers several promotional packages with discounted pricing to customers who subscribe to one or more of its products as compared to the a la carte prices for each individual product. Cablevision’s Optimum Triple Play family package offers iO TV, Optimum Online and Optimum Voice.

Rainbow

Cablevision conducts its programming activities through Rainbow Media Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of CSC Holdings. Rainbow Media Holdings’ businesses include ownership interests in national programming networks and regional news networks. Rainbow Media Holdings’ national entertainment programming networks include AMC, WE tv, IFC and Sundance Channel. Rainbow Media Holdings owns News 12, which provides around the clock local news, traffic and weather services dedicated to covering areas within the New York metropolitan area and also own and operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, a cable television advertising company.

With a library of popular films, AMC offers movie-based entertainment for movie lovers. AMC is available on cable television and other distribution platforms, such as direct broadcast satellite (DBS) and video programming offered by telephone companies in the United States, the AMC service was launched by certain cable television operators in Canada. It is principally carried on basic or expanded basic tiers, for which subscribers do not have to pay a premium to receive the network. WE tv is a around the clock entertainment network for women. The programming is available on multiple platforms and features films, original series and specials. IFC was the first network dedicated to independent films and related programming. IFC presents feature-length films (domestically and internationally produced), documentaries, shorts, animation, new works, cult classics and originally produced programs, which chronicle independent film trends. Sundance Channel offers audiences a selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. The programming is available on multiple platforms and features films, original series and specials. The regional news services provided by the Company include News 12 Long Island, News 12 New Jersey, News 12 Westchester, News 12 Connecticut, News 12 The Bronx and News 12 Interactive, as well as News 12 Traffic and Weather (collectively, the News 12 Networks).

IFC Entertainment consists of multiple brands, such as, IFC in Theaters and IFC Festival Direct, which distribute critically acclaimed independent films across all available media platforms, including via tangible home video, electronic downloading and video-on-demand. Rainbow Network Communications, servicing primarily Rainbow Media Holdings’ programming offerings, is a full service network programming origination and distribution company. Its services include origination, transmission, video engineering, uplinking, encryption, affiliate engineering, technology consulting, transponder negotiation, content ordering, quality control and editing.

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden comprises professional sports teams, a live entertainment company, a regional sports programming business, as well as the operations of Fuse, a national programming network effective January 1, 2008. The sports teams include the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, and the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association. In addition, Madison Square Garden owns and operates the Madison Square Garden Arena (the indoor arena in New York City), the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden and, the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. It also leases and operates Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

The Madison Square Garden Arena hosts home games of the Knicks, Rangers and Liberty, as well as a range of sports and entertainment events, including college basketball, boxing, and family shows. Madison Square Garden’s entertainment business presents its Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which features the Radio City Rockettes, at Radio City Music Hall and in its touring Christmas productions. The entertainment business also hosts a variety of other entertainment events at the Madison Square Garden Arena, the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre and the Chicago Theatre, including concerts by such notable artists as The Police, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffet, Bruce Springsteen and Justin Timberlake, and other events, such as Wintuk (a co-production between Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Cirque du Soleil), the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Tony Awards and the NFL Draft. MSG Media, which includes MSG Network and MSG Plus (formerly Fox Sports Net New York), features original sports and sports-related programming, including the telecasting of games of the following professional sports teams: the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Liberty, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and New York Red Bulls. Fuse is a music television network featuring music videos, artist interviews, live concerts, and series and specials.

Newsday

Newsday consists of the Newsday daily newspaper, amNew York, Star Community Publishing Group and online Websites, including newsday.com and exploreLI.com. Newsday also included Island Publications, which was shutdown in December 2008. Its publications are distributed through both paid and free distribution in various ways across Long Island and the New York metropolitan area. The Company’s products include the Newsday daily newspaper, which is primarily distributed on Long Island, New York; amNew York, a free daily newspaper distributed in New York City; Star Community Publishing, which is the Northeast’s group of weekly shopper publications, and Websites.

Other Businesses

Clearview Cinemas operates 48 movie theaters containing 250 screens in the New York metropolitan area. An indirect subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings owns a 90% interest in an entity, DTV Norwich LLC that holds Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses in 46 metropolitan areas in the United States, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Cleveland, to provide multi-channel video distribution and data service (MVDDS), which could be used to distribute video, data or other applications to subscribers via terrestrial transmission facilities and rooftop antennas. PVI Virtual Media Services LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, which markets a real time video insertion system that through patented technology places computer generated electronic images into telecasts of sporting events and other programming.

Cablevision competes with EchoStar, DirecTV, Verizon and AT&T Inc. and EarthLink.