Altice SA, a France-based telecom and cable company, announced Thursday it has acquired Cablevision Systems Corp. for $17.7 billion US, making it the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S. market. Altice said in a press release that after buying Cablevision and its acquisition of Suddenlink Communications earlier this year, it will serve 4.6 million customers in 20 states and noted that both companies will benefit from the national platform as well as “additional international operational expertise.” “The strategy of Altice in the large and highly strategic U.S. market...
Another U.S. cable company said it will provide the services of Netflix Inc. to its customers through set-top boxes made by TiVo Inc. Suddenlink Communications announced the arrangement in a press release on Tuesday, saying it’s the largest U.S. cable operator to date, with 1.2 million TV-service subscribers, “to provide its customers seamless access to Netflix through the same set-top box they already use to watch television.” Suddenlink said the arrangement with Netflix will take effect in the summer. "This agreement is a great example of how the cable industry can...