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actor90
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actor90

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Malone: Cablevision not a good takeover target

In the thank God department, John "crypt keeper" Malone doesn't think Cablevision is an appealing takeover target. Most likely in my opinion because the high level of service and reasonable pricing is not what investors want in a cable company. The story was on Bloomberg.

»www.bloomberg.com/news/2 ··· ush.html
said by Bloomberg :
John Malone, the billionaire aiming to consolidate the U.S. cable industry, said he doesn’t see Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) as an appealing target because it’s entrenched in the New York market, giving it less room to grow.
“Part of the problem is they’ve done such a good job,” Malone said in an interview today at an investor conference for his holding company, Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA)

andrewc2
join:2011-06-05
Matamoras, PA

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Re: Malone, Cablevision not a good takeover target

Thank goodness, keep the "don't buy cablevision" press coming!
Rojo31
join:2009-04-14
New York, NY

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Re: Malone: Cablevision not a good takeover target

Whew!
majortom1029
join:2006-10-19
Medford, NY

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I have always said the Dolans are doing what they are so they can try to take cablevision private again.
UofMiamiGrad
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join:2001-02-03
Syosset, NY

UofMiamiGrad

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said by majortom1029:

I have always said the Dolans are doing what they are so they can try to take cablevision private again.

They was attempted & failed, with the banks tighter now on lending I doubt they ever attempt it again. If anything Time Warner would want the company to fill in the void they have in the metro area footprint. Otherwise CV will stay as it is currently, since they spun off all the other assets into separate tracking companies/stocks. Off course every few years we'll hear about some company wanting to buy CV, which will never come to fruition.
majortom1029
join:2006-10-19
Medford, NY

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They spun OFF the other companies so that it is easier to take private. Their other attempt failed because of those properties.
TheWiseGuy
Dog And Butterfly
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join:2002-07-04
East Stroudsburg, PA

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Certainly it is possible that they spun off the other parts to take the company private, but there are other reasons they may have done the spin offs. Probably the most likely of the other reasons is that it is easier to value the parts when they trade separately. If you believed the parts were valued less than the whole, spin offs made sense.

I suspect one of the major items Malone is talking about is the penetration rate of Cablevision which is probably higher than anyone else in the industry. It reduces the possibility of increasing revenues by selling to more people. Another consideration is probably the size of the FIOS footprint that overlaps Cablevision's footprint.

If Malone was looking at reasonable pricing and high customer service by itself, he would see it as a good opportunity since someone taking over CV could raise rates and cut costs on the service side.

The market does not seem to be taking his statement to heart since the stock price is still up significantly since he started pushing consolidation in the cable arena.

momcat1
No Relation To The Bobcat
join:2002-10-21
Wappingers Falls, NY

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That's a relief. The other options are not attractive at all.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

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The only merger that would accomplish worse service and higher rates for cablevision cusotmers is with Time Warner.. and due to the mob mentality of the CV customer base (the one good thing that keeps this geography hanging on with competition by a thread) that has about as much possibility of happening as the gasoline prices going down to $1 a gallon nationwide.

What the wall street pundits are pondering is the future of the NY metro marketplace.. it is here that companies would love to get their greedy hands on providing less service for more money since it is the MOST dense and cheapest consolidated geography (of customers per sq mile) in the country. A virtual honeypot of consumers live in this part of the country with higher than average net wealth. Trying to turn wireline cable and telco into the kind of horrible pricing you have in the cell indusry is the dream of these kinds of wall street fantasies of lifting the consumer upside down and wringing every penny out of them in return for lackluster service that would make Ma Bell look like a starbucks lemonade stand. Believe it or not, the slivers of overlap between TWC and Verizon (in NYC) are dysfuctional due to lack of deployment of FIOS, giving TWC a monopoly on broadband-- creating the same kind of dysfunctional asymmetrical state of competition between AT&T and Comcast.

This wireline industry is facing a shift in consumer demand for internet access above and beyond the demand for video and phone service which are expected to be value added or dirt cheap/free. Expect this consumer interest to be at odds with most big cable cos and telcos who want to make the most money with the least cost.
TheWiseGuy
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said by tmc8080:

The only merger that would accomplish worse service and higher rates for cablevision custotmers is with Time Warner.

You certainly are entitled to your opinion. I actually do not have one, I was responding to someone else's comments. Given the negative view of a takeover and the relieved posts, I would say most people here disagree with you, but hey I can only go by what people post, service is of course subjective and I have not investigated other major company pricing since there are way too many levels and combinations to compare them all.

I, unfortunately, no longer have CV as an option and my only option for cable and reasonable Internet speeds charges over 25% more than Cablevision's normal rates for a package with lower speeds, less channels, few WiFi hotspots and a Prime Time cap of 250GB. It was just raised from 50GB prime and 250 GB overall, and at least now is not at all restricting for normal use. I could go with Satellite for TV and DSL and get a major price reduction. At this time price is not even close to my most important criteria for what service I have for Internet and TV.

Booost
@optonline.net

Booost

Anon

You moved from Yonkers to the sticks? Wow.
TheWiseGuy
Dog And Butterfly
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join:2002-07-04
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said by Booost :

You moved from Yonkers to the sticks? Wow.

Reminds me of the theme song to Green Acres.

It is very rural here, though I am not sure it is quite the sticks. While I never use them, the complex has a swimming pool and tennis courts. There is also a golf course and while I do not use it to play golf, I do walk the course for exercise, and the Deer do not show up until sundown. There are 2 large grocery stores and several CVSes within a short walk, and just about every store you would want is about 10-15 minutes away. I have not seen any BobCats around here, have you seen any?

kickass69
join:2002-06-03
Lake Hopatcong, NJ

kickass69

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I hear more and more about locals out that way beyond tired of having New Yorkers continue to ruin the Poconos, have you seen/heard/experienced any of that thus far?
TheWiseGuy
Dog And Butterfly
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said by kickass69:

I hear more and more about locals out that way beyond tired of having New Yorkers continue to ruin the Poconos, have you seen/heard/experienced any of that thus far?

Not really, but I have not met a lot of people. I tend to spend a lot of time working and walking. Most people up here seem to be a lot friendlier and relaxed then in NY but I am not a social butterfly.

andrewc2
join:2011-06-05
Matamoras, PA

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As someone from the Poconos's we complain more generally about increased traffic and people who clearly don't know where they're going being in the way.

However this is off topic :P

We're one of the odd areas that Cablevision picked up back in 2000, and the 2 providers near us Blue Ridge, and TWC both have higher prices and vastly inferior offerings. Though we don't get any PA channels as a result of CV being our provider. In there defense we are considered to be in the NYC tv market.