Altice/Cablevision Hurts Latinos, Entravision Tells NYPSC
A Latino media company entered a late plea at the New York Public Service Commission to stop the Altice buy of Cablevision. The state commission is expected to issue a decision on the deal in less than two weeks. Entravision,…
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a media company with TV, radio and digital channels targeting Latinos, submitted a motion Tuesday to file late comments after noticing that the concerns of minority and independent programmers hadn’t been raised. “This acquisition will affect one of the already small number of significant buyers of video programming, create a larger buyer of such programming, and result in the very consolidation of the buying side of the video programming market that has to be of concern to this Commission,” Entravision said. “The resulting increased bargaining power of the merged entity can be expected to reduce the price, quantity, and quality of video programming the merged entity purchases, harming not only programming providers but also advertisers and video consumers, including the many Latino video consumers that are served by Cablevision in the New York City metropolitan area.” The New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee plans to vote on the deal Wednesday, followed by New York state May 20 (see 1605060038). Altice and Cablevision received an FCC green light last week (see 1605040010). Altice has said the deal will enhance competition, promote network improvements and bridge the digital divide for low-income households.