Time Warner Cable and Cablevision customers: Is Charter Cable in your future?

The best way the cable industry can grow revenue in the lucrative broadband business is to bring back the same type of collusion and control cable companies maintained over video programming 20 years ago.

Dr. John Malone did not want to sound nefarious in his recent interview with CNBC’s David Faber, but the new part-owner of Charter Communications has built a reputation as cable’s Darth Vader over the last 30 years. His detractors consider his way of doing business akin to a nationwide cable mafia, complete with exclusive, non-competitive territories that assure operators can charge sky-is-the-limit prices.

Malone is now back in the cable business in a big way, and analysts expect he will quickly amass influence in an industry he once led as CEO of the nation’s then-largest cable operator — Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI).

Why is John Malone back in the cable business and why buy a piece of Charter Cable? Malone tells CNBC’s David Faber Charter is a company with enormous growth potential through mergers and acquisitions. CNBC says Malone could be targeting Time Warner Cable and Cablevision for acquisition by Charter as early as next year. “There is consolidation yet to be done,” Malone hints.  (7 minutes)

Malone notes the cable industry is on the cusp of transformative consolidation through collaborative agreements, mergers, and outright acquisitions both here and abroad. CNBC speculated that could begin with efforts to further reduce the number of cable operators in the United States, perhaps beginning with a deal by Charter Communications to acquire both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, which could combine under Malone’s stewardship and Charter’s executive leadership to “compete” with Comcast.

Dr. John Malone

CNBC reporters note Malone has high praise for Thomas Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications. Rutledge’s earlier experience working for both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision could be an asset in combining all three companies into one. Analysts speculate such a deal could be pitched as early as 2014 when Time Warner Cable will undergo a management makeover with the departure of CEO Glenn Britt. CNBC also noted Cablevision’s imminent sale has been rumored for years, and current leader and family patriarch Chuck Dolan is 87 years old. With cheap credit and Malone’s business savvy, both companies could find themselves part of a Malone-engineered takeover that would vastly expand Charter Communications into the second largest cable operator in the country.

Malone sees the days of traditional cable television coming to an end as consumers turn to “over the top” online video for an increasing share of their viewing time. As cable television rates continue to increase, customers are cutting the cord. Malone believes today’s bloated cable packages are ripe for an upheaval from a-la-carte pricing or theme-based programming bouquets that break expensive sports programming or movie channels out of the traditional basic cable lineup. Malone even suspects a challenge to the industry’s current price models could surprisingly come from the programmers themselves.

Sports networks will be among the first to notice their affiliate revenue collected from cable and satellite companies (and passed on to customers in the form of higher rates) will stagnate as customers drop cable television. Declining viewer ratings also mean lower ad revenues. Malone believes at some point sports teams and/or programming networks will decide that the biggest barrier to winning new viewers is the $70-80 asking price for basic cable. If sports programmers find they can reach new audiences selling their programming online, direct-to-consumer, for $5-10 a month, the basic cable all-for-one-price model will quickly collapse.

“As the cable guys and the satellite guys start to lose customers to the over-the-top guys, some of those economics will be reflected back on the sports guys,” Malone said. “They’ll start losing advertising revenue. They’ll lose affiliate revenue. And they have to face reality that maybe you need to segregate your market like everybody else.”

John Malone predicts the demise of the traditional bundle of cable television programming within five years. The future is streamed video online, declares Malone, so it is important the cable industry move to manage that competitive threat by acquiring streaming competitors or launching their own services to assure video programming revenue can be protected.  (5 minutes)

Malone sees the future sustainability of the cable industry dependent on the high revenue broadband business.

“I think it is at a point in history when the most addictive thing in the communications world is high-speed connectivity,” Malone told CNBC. “Everywhere in the world that we operate, we’ve just seen the public want more and more data rate. Whether it’s wireless or wired. There’s a big appetite for it. Cable technology right now is the most cost-effective way to deliver that growth in speed.”

Malone believes there is also plenty of room for revenue growth and cost-cutting, which he said can best be accomplished by getting other cable operators together to “cooperate” and “coordinate” broad scale broadband projects that counter competitive threats from third parties.

Malone helped pioneer the cable industry business practice of “don’t compete in my backyard and I won’t compete in yours,” an informal agreement among operators to stay within their own specific territories, safe and secure from competition. In the 1980s and 1990s, Malone’s TCI was one among many cable operators buying and swapping cable systems to build large, regional system “clusters” where only a single cable company provides service, winning economy of scale and a formidable presence that discouraged other wired competitors from entering the business. In most cities, only the deep pockets of AT&T (U-verse) and Verizon (FiOS) have managed to shake things up.

Bring back the cable mafia? CNBC’s David Faber gets John Malone to admit vertical and horizontal integration — controlling the content and the pipeline — are important factors to protect cable revenue and expand American dominance in cable internationally. Malone is also a big supporter of industry consolidation and believes mergers and acquisitions are necessary to shrink the number of cable operators in the United States. (5 minutes)

The cable mafia?

Malone wants broadband to be carefully managed under the industry’s own control and direction.

Faber asked if Malone wanted to bring back the days of the “cable mafia.”

“Yes, I think we do want to bring back the days of @Home, the days of Ted Turner, the days when we all got together, because together we provided national scale,” Malone said. “Now I think we have the opportunity to create global scale,” he said. “The goal is not to be bigger. The goal is to be more cost-effective.”

Other stories of interest:

1. He’s Back: Dr. John Malone’s Liberty Media Buying 27.3% of Charter Cable
2. Former Cable Czar John Malone Says Internet Video is Too Chaotic: It Needs to Be Controlled (By Them)
3. Suddenlink Cable CEO: ‘People Don’t Realize the Days of Cable Company Upgrades are Basically Over’
4. Cable’s ‘Darth Vader’ is Back: John Malone’s Liberty Global Buys Virgin Media for $16.3 Billion
5. Cable Stock Booster Predicts AT&T Provides ‘Safe Passage’ for Cable Internet Overcharging Schemes

What is the best way to win a big promotion at Cablevision? Be related to the Dolan family that founded the cable system.

Cablevision Systems CEO James Dolan suddenly announced a shuffling of executives at the helm of the cable operation that serves suburban New York, Connecticut, and parts of New Jersey.

Dolan’s wife got the biggest promotion: president of Optimum Services. That represents a big jump for Kristin Dolan, who was last seen helping revive the long dead career of Michael Bolton in a marketing and rebranding exercise that turned the faded pop musician into a de facto Cablevision mascot. Under her leadership, Cablevision managed to put its most important product — broadband, dead last in its triple play marketing campaigns.

Brian Sweeney, Dolan’s brother-in-law, also scored a new title – senior executive vice president of strategy.

Dolan called the management shifts a pro-customer effort that would refocus and streamline the company’s decision-making processes. Since both executives will report directly to Dolan, some industry insiders believe James Dolan intends to tightly consolidate his control over management decisions at the company.

Kristin will keep her role as chief of brand positioning and expand her oversight into the company’s sales and promotional activities. Sweeney will serve as the “long-term strategy” guy, overseeing planning, customer retention, and winning customers away from Cablevision’s biggest competitor — Verizon FiOS.

A large number of former Cablevision executives defected from the cable company in 2011, most heading with former chief operating officer Tom Rutledge to Charter Communications.

Compare Optimum/Cablevision’s Marketing Campaigns: Before <- Kristin Dolan -> With

Cablevision’s ‘Before Kristin’ Advertising (1 minute)

Cablevision’s ‘With Kristin’ Advertising (1 minute)

Other stories of interest:

1. Cablevision’s Marketing FAIL: New Ads Feature Michael Bolton? Is Danny Bonaduce Next?
2. Cablevision Executives Head for the Hills: Rumors of Dolan Family Takeover or Buyout Emerge
3. Cablevision’s Soap Opera: A Cable Operator Under Duress Avoids Tough Questions
4. Cablevision: An Attractive Takeover Target for Time Warner Cable, Says Barron’s
5. Cablevision Sues Union for Giving Out CEO’s Direct Phone Number to Customers

Cablevision’s yesteryear marketing: As outdated as this Harvest Gold Trimline phone.

Cablevision’s bizarre new ads for its Optimum triple-play package (the one that puts broadband, arguably its most important component, dead last) have reached a new low in the latest series featuring… Michael Bolton?

Bolton is a practical unknown to the most important demographic group not buying cable: recent graduate twenty-somethings that were 12 when one of his songs last plagued top-40 radio. Cablevision’s misfire could only be outdone if Nike hired Dick Van Dyke to pitch their shoes.

This is the best Cablevision can manage after Sandy blew away 11,000 of their customers (potentially for good) and rate increases took another 28,000 households with them (mostly to the benefit of Verizon FiOS)? Was the runner-up Joyce DeWitt from Three’s Company pitching a three-pack of phone, television, and (oh yes) Internet service?

Cablevision’s marketing efforts are now partly overseen by the CEO’s wife, who ‘somehow’ landed the prominent role of rebranding Cablevision/Optimum. Perhaps her best talents lie elsewhere.

Verizon featured Michael Bay blowing things up in FiOS ads five years ago that were more trendy than Cablevision was this week.

The point of the ad? Michael Bolton keeps getting annoyed with masses of would-be Cablevision customers calling in to sign up for cable service on a toll-free number that is just one digit away from Michael Bolton’s toll-free number (?) Yes, that is Bolton talking on a (shudder) landline (at least he has a cordless phone). Does anyone under 30 even know what a “toll-free” call is?

For those of us who remember what a dial tone sounds like and can still recognize a Trimline rotary phone, the ad still does not make sense. I am perplexed why Michael Bolton has a toll-free number. I guess when Tonya Harding’s name recognition rivals Michael Bolton’s, the fact he has a toll-free number gives him the edge.

A minute later, I am left wondering why I care. I am not certainly not wondering why I haven’t picked up the phone to order Cablevision service.

When it comes to branding and image, here is what Cablevision just accomplished:

• Verizon FiOS circa 2008 = Michael Bay blowing cool stuff up.
• Cablevision this week = Michael Bolton.

‘Nuff said.

AD FAIL: What were they thinking? Michael Bolton annoys viewers trying to recollect his career while Cablevision tries to make New York, New Jersey and Connecticut remember why they should care.  (1 minute)

Other stories of interest:

1. Cablevision’s Rate Freeze A Lesson for Cable Operators Trying to Raise Rates
2. Competition Breather: Verizon FiOS Rate Hikes Ease Pressure on Cablevision, TWC
3. Where’s Our Refund? Cablevision Subscribers Want Credit for Now-Resolved TV Food Network/HGTV Spat
4. Verizon Accelerates Copper Landline Decommissioning; Ready or Not, Customers Moved to FiOS
5. A Look at Broadband Numbers in the United States: DSL Hurting Phone Companies

Cablevision’s executive suites are filled with intrigue and family politics. — Phillip Dampier

Cablevision’s quarterly results conference call last week was an exercise in obfuscation.

Senior management at the cable operator that serves parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced some difficult financial results, including the fact the company lost at least 39,000 customers during the last quarter — a significant number considering Cablevision only serves 3.6 million customers as of the end of December. At least 11,000 of those customers stopped paying their bills and disappeared, presumably because their homes and businesses were victims of Hurricane Sandy. But company officials admitted they also lost high-speed Internet customers because of a recent price increase and ongoing heavy promotional activity from their biggest competitor — Verizon FiOS. The phone company has offered triple play packages as low as $89 a month with $300 debit card rebates, which makes hiking rates untenable.

Cablevision CEO James Dolan has been ducking hard questions from Wall Street analysts concerned about the company’s spending and marketing, the loss of subscribers, and fallout from a 2011 management shakeup. Richard Greenfield, an analyst at research firm BTIG, has been frustrated getting answers from the Dolan family that has controlled Cablevision for decades, tweeting Cablevision executives stopped taking his questions on regular conference calls after he began asking some of those hard questions.

Cablevision’s Upgrades Will Continue; Company Wants an Improved Subscriber Experience

Greenfield

One of the problems Verizon FiOS’ fiber to the home network brings Cablevision as its largest competitor is fiber technology is superior to Cablevision’s cable network infrastructure. Verizon has been a formidable challenger. This has forced the cable operator to make dramatic improvements, particularly in its broadband product, to stay competitive. But some of these upgrades have been delayed by the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which affected 60 percent of Cablevision’s subscribers in the tri-state area.

Cablevision has been forced to offer customers service credits, substantially curtail sales and advertising efforts, and suspend the non-pay collection rules and disconnect policy.

Cablevision has also committed itself to an expensive robust Wi-Fi network to differentiate itself from Verizon. Cablevision has an extensive Wi-Fi presence in its service area, offering unlimited free service for its customers. Verizon does not. Cablevision ended 2012 with more than 67,000 installed hotspots, with more than 30% of Optimum Online customers using the service in 2012.

At the same time, cable television programming costs have skyrocketed, but Cablevision has generally avoided raising prices fearing Verizon would poach unhappy subscribers.

Drama Surrounding Executive Changes

Internet comes last?

In 2011, Cablevision accepted the resignation of Tom Rutledge, former chief operating officer. Richard Greenfield dismissed Cablevision’s statements about his departure as “spin,” and claims the real reason Rutledge left for Charter Communications is that Jim Dolan became dissatisfied with Rutledge’s performance. But that poor performance could also be attributed to some of the company’s own decisions, particularly when it engaged in multiple battles with programmers during 2010 that forced popular cable networks and broadcasters temporarily off Cablevision lineups. Greenfield suggests the biggest impact was felt when the cable operator dropped the local Fox station right in the middle of the World Series. BTIG believes subscriber losses accelerated for these reasons (and Verizon’s aggressive marketing efforts) and helped the company see its earnings and subscriber trends hurt.

Jim Dolan has reportedly taken a more hands-on approach at Cablevision and even appointed his wife Kristin to assume a stronger role in how Cablevision markets itself to customers.

The result was a Cablevision rebranding that Greenfield criticized in September as “firmly entrenched in the past,” because it emphasizes television and phone service over broadband.

Avoiding Tough Questions

Several of the questions Greenfield wanted answered, but could not, dealt with the transformation of part of Cablevision’s service area thanks to Sandy and some of the company’s earlier missteps:

• Permanent System Loss: How many Cablevision homes in the service area will no longer exist or take years to rebuild?
• Recapture Suspended Accounts: At least 24,000 video subscribers disappeared after Hurricane Sandy. Has this number changed recently and are there plans to win these customers back?
• Verizon FIOS was back up and running in storm-damaged areas before Cablevision. How has this affected your operations?
• Marketing Missteps: Are there plans to correct the marketing deficiencies from the 2012 campaign in 2013, particularly for broadband?
• Onyx Guide and Network DVR: Neither are well-received by customers. The Onyx on-screen Guide has been slammed for not working properly, being cumbersome to use, and difficult to read. The remote DVR has been criticized for its poor quality and reliability over traditional in-home DVRs. What will Cablevision do to address these complaints?
• Why is Cablevision challenging Viacom in court over cable network programming costs when sports programming is where the real costs are?

Other stories of interest:

1. Cablevision Capitulates on New Customer Promos; Verizon FiOS’ Price Slashing Really Hurt
2. Cablevision: An Attractive Takeover Target for Time Warner Cable, Says Barron’s
3. A Look at Broadband Numbers in the United States: DSL Hurting Phone Companies
4. Cablevision Executives Head for the Hills: Rumors of Dolan Family Takeover or Buyout Emerge
5. Competition Breather: Verizon FiOS Rate Hikes Ease Pressure on Cablevision, TWC

Do you ever wonder why your local cable system suddenly decided to begin carrying barely known networks like Centric, Logo, Palladia, and a dozen other channels you can’t recall ever watching even as providers perennially complain about “increased programming costs?”

The cable dial has gotten increasingly crowded with secondary cable networks that usually occupy three digit channel numbers somewhere in cable dial Siberia, unlikely to be encountered by anyone other than the most hearty channel surfer.

Welcome to the cable network racket, run by the corporate owners of popular cable networks that allegedly force cable operators to also carry (and pay for) lesser-watched networks as part of a broader carriage deal.

Today, Cablevision filed an antitrust lawsuit against Viacom in Manhattan federal court for illegally forcing the cable company to carry and pay for more than a dozen ancillary cable networks it claims customers don’t want, just so Viacom will sell access to popular cable networks including Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon.

“The manner in which Viacom sells its programming is illegal, anti-consumer, and wrong,” Cablevision indicated in a prepared statement. “Viacom’s abuse of its market power is not only illegal, but also prevents Cablevision from delivering the programming that its customers want and that competes with Viacom’s less popular channels.”

Cablevision argues Viacom is hostile with cable operators who don’t want these add-on channels, coercing carriage agreements by threatening “massive financial penalties” or exclusion of popular channels altogether until operators sign up for the majority of Viacom networks.

Cablevision’s complaint asserts that Viacom is engaged in a “per se” illegal tying arrangement in violation of federal antitrust laws. Cablevision also claims Viacom has engaged in unlawful “block booking,” a form of tying  conditions on the sale of a package of rights to the purchaser’s taking of other rights.

Cablevision is seeking a number of remedies including voiding the carriage agreement Cablevision signed with Viacom just last December, a permanent injunction banning Viacom from making carriage agreements conditional on adding other networks, and financial relief in the form of damages and legal costs related to bringing the suit.

Yes

Viacom-owned networks customers actually want:

• MTV
• MTV2
• Nickelodeon
• VH1
• Spike
• TV Land
• Comedy Central
• BET

What?

Viacom’s 14 extra networks you may have never heard of and may not want to pay for:

• Centric
• CMT
• MTV Hits
• MTV Tr3s
• Nick Jr.
• Nicktoons
• Palladia
• Teen Nick
• VH1 Classic
• VH1 Soul
• Logo
• CMT Pure Country
• Nick 2
• MTV Jams

Viacom issued a statement minutes ago claiming it would “vigorously defend this transparent attempt by Cablevision to use the courts to renegotiate our existing two-month-old agreement.”

Viacom argues it does not force operators to carry any of its networks, but admitted it does offer financial incentives in the form of lower prices when operators agree to also carry its lesser-known networks. Viacom said that it had “long offered discounts to those who agree to provide additional network distribution.”

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Warner Cable & Viacom Make Peace: Comedy Central, MTV Coming to Apps
2. Pot to Kettle: Cablevision Petitions FCC for A-La-Carte for Themselves While Keeping It Away From You
3. Time Warner Cable Partners with Viacom for Web Access to Full Length, On-Demand Shows
4. Cablevision Chief Warns of Consumer Revolt, Tells Operators to Exercise “Restraint” in Cable Rates
5. Where’s Our Refund? Cablevision Subscribers Want Credit for Now-Resolved TV Food Network/HGTV Spat

Press “1″ to talk to James Dolan, CEO of Cablevision.

Cablevision has filed a lawsuit against the Communications Workers of America District 1 and its Local 1109, which represents area workers, in Nassau County Supreme Court.

The cable operator is accusing the union of launching harassing robocalls which have given customers the chance to pester CEO and president James Dolan.

At least 20,000 robocalls were made to Cablevision subscribers in three days, from Jan. 31 – Feb. 2 which the cable company alleges were designed to cost the company money and its reputation.

If customers pressed “1″ during the call, they were automatically forwarded to a Cablevision call center to complain about recent rate increases and recent job losses at the company. On Feb. 3, Cablevision alleges the robocall campaign was adjusted. Now if customers press “1″ during the call, they are directly connected to the phone sitting on Dolan’s desk. In just two days, Cablevision alleges Dolan’s line received 1,193 calls.

The following day, the union was also accused of sharing Dolan’s direct number on social media websites.

“The union will no doubt claim that their telephone harassment scheme is designed to allow customers to communicate substantive messages to the CEO, but such an argument cannot sustain the slightest scrutiny,” reads the complaint. “The unions knows full well that no Fortune 500 CEO can possibly handle a concentrated barrage of one-on-one phone calls with subscribers and others, and that companies like Cablevision have designated and publicly known call centers established precisely to handle such calls in an orderly, responsive manner – including mechanisms for escalating certain such calls to the CEO, if necessary.”

The CWA and Cablevision have fought over an effort to unionize cable company workers in Brooklyn, N.Y.

A year ago, Cablevision workers in Brooklyn voted to form a union, but Cablevision/Optimum management has allegedly stonewalled the unionization effort.

On Jan. 30, about two dozen workers sought to speak with Cablevision management under the company’s “open door” policy, specifically about the lack of progress in completing a contract. Cablevision terminated the 22 employees on the spot, deeming them “permanently replaced.”

Cablevision’s suit requests court costs and an injunction ordering the union not to harass it, aid or abet harassment, or falsely and deceptively display any Cablevision phone number on robocalls.

 The Communications Workers of America produced this video highlighting what they consider the unfair termination of 22 workers after seeking an “open door” meeting with Cablevision management.  (2 minutes)

Other stories of interest:

1. Union Helps Sandy Victims Secure Cablevision Refunds; Lawsuit Threatened In Response
2. Cablevision Customers: Get $20 Off Your Monthly Bill for 2 Years
3. Cablevision: An Attractive Takeover Target for Time Warner Cable, Says Barron’s
4. Verizon Strike Day 5: It’s Getting Nasty – Company Sues to Stop Pickets, Workers Picket Customers’ Homes
5. Cablevision Subject of $250 Million Lawsuit Over Lack of Automatic Sandy Refunds

Here today, gone tomorrow.

Cablevision West, formerly known as Bresnan Communications, has been up for sale for weeks, and at least three major cable operators have submitted bids to acquire its 300,000 customers in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

Cablevision bought Bresnan Communications in 2010 for $1.37 billion. The cable operator invested millions updating the cable properties in the mountain west, but ultimately decided the more rural cable systems were too far away from its hometown systems in densely populated suburban New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Selling Cablevision West would improve Cablevision’s balance sheet and allow the company to concentrate on its highly competitive home territory in the northeast, where Verizon FiOS frequently competes.

Among the three vying for Cablevision West, Charter Communications seems to be the best positioned to win. Charter already operates cable systems in the central and western United States, mostly in smaller cities and rural areas. Former Cablevision CEO Thomas Rutledge was in charge when Cablevision bought Bresnan Communications, and in his new role as CEO of Charter, he told CNBC he still admires those western systems.

Suddenlink has attained deeper pockets after its acquisition earlier this year by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, European private equity firm BC Partners and the cable operator’s current management. With money to spend, Suddenlink Communications could find itself the highest bidder. Suddenlink currently serves over 1.4 million residential and commercial customers, primarily in Texas, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable provider, is also among the stingiest of the three bidders. CEO Glenn Britt has consistently told investors the company will not engage in bidding wars or overpay for acquisition opportunities. The company has passed on several earlier opportunities for cable systems up for sale, although it did successfully acquire Insight Communications earlier this year.

The winner will likely be announced as early as January and then customers will have to prepare, once again, for another owner to take control.

Other stories of interest:

1. Charter Cable Sniffing Around Optimum West; Could Acquire Western Systems from Cablevision
2. Cablevision: An Attractive Takeover Target for Time Warner Cable, Says Barron’s
3. Cablevision, New Owner of Bresnan Cable, Promises Broadband Upgrades in Montana and Wyoming
4. Suddenlink Executives Join Canada’s Pension Plan to Buy Out the Company
5. Bresnan’s Montana Customers Now Part of Cablevision’s Optimum West

Union members of the Communications Workers of America, unhappy that customers are not going to receive automatic service credits for the extensive outages caused by Hurricane Sandy, are robocalling possible Cablevision customers to help them secure refunds.

In response, Cablevision’s lawyers threatened to sue the union, claiming they were engaged in “deceptive and illegal” practices, and accused the union of stealing customer records.

Cablevision is one of the few holdouts that require customers to personally request service credits for outages caused by the October storm. Most providers in the hardest hit areas have issued automatic blanket credits for affected customers. Companies requiring customers to contact a customer service representative to request credit are assured many will not, either because of long hold times, other matters taking precedence, or simply because customers forget to ask.

Union officials say the robocalled numbers were gathered from publicly available phone records in the affected areas and did not come from Cablevision’s customer database. Cablevision also objected to the suggestion the union was calling “on behalf” of the cable company — a charge also denied by the union.

“We are just calling people in the affected area to let them know they are eligible for a refund and help them get it if they are entitled to it,” CWA organizer Tim Dubnau told the New York Daily News.

Callers who are interested in pursuing a claim are transferred by the union direct to Cablevision customer service for assistance.

Cablevision and the CWA have been at odds ever since the union began attempting to organize workers in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

The cable company is also facing a $250 million lawsuit filed separately on behalf of subscribers Irwin Bard, a retired businessman from Oyster Bay, N.Y. and his son Jeffery, a lawyer from Huntington.

Other stories of interest:

1. Cablevision Subject of $250 Million Lawsuit Over Lack of Automatic Sandy Refunds
2. Time Running Out on New England Cable/Phone Customers Seeking Storm-Related Credits
3. CA/TX Weekend Outages = Service Credits for Time Warner Cable Customers Who Ask
4. Cablevision Customers: Get $20 Off Your Monthly Bill for 2 Years
5. When Your Cable Company Has An Outage: Busy Signals – Bright House’s One Hour Outage Nets Loose Change in Credits

Cable customers in Montana, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming can be forgiven if they cannot remember the name of the cable company that provides them with service. Originally Bresnan Communications, then Cablevision’s Optimum West, customers are now learning Charter Communications could soon be their new service provider.

James Dolan, CEO of Cablevision Industries, last week acknowledged he had received “unsolicited interest” in the cable properties in the western United States, and told investors he may sell the systems for an undisclosed amount.

Cablevision acquired the systems formerly owned by Bill Bresnan two years ago, investing tens of millions in upgrades to bring them closer to modern standards. Cablevision has received praise from many subscribers for improved service and more competitive rates. But a sale could change that. Charter Cable is perennially rated among the worst cable companies in the United States by Consumer Reports.

Should Charter acquire the systems, it will also inherit a major tax fight initiated by Cablevision, protesting its Montana property tax bills for 2010 and 2011.

Cablevision is upset tax authorities defined the Optimum West operation as a single telecommunications company, not a cable company. That decision effectively doubles its tax rate from 3 to 6 percent — the same rate CenturyLink pays in the state.

If an appeals process finds the state erred in its decision, 29 counties will have to refund millions that Cablevision paid under protest.

Tax officials warn if Cablevision’s tax rate is cut in half and other companies reap similar rewards, homeowners and small businesses will cover the difference. Revenue director Dan Bucks warned that could mean annual tax bills $110 higher on a home assessed at $200,000.

Other stories of interest:

1. Bresnan’s Montana Customers Now Part of Cablevision’s Optimum West
2. Charter Cable’s Los Angeles System Up for Bidding – Wisconsin/LA Cable Swap Falls Through
3. Cablevision, New Owner of Bresnan Cable, Promises Broadband Upgrades in Montana and Wyoming
4. Cablevision Drops Tribune-Owned WPIX, KWGN, WCCT, WPHL in Yet Another Fee Dispute
5. Charter Customers Revolt: $25 for Broadcast Basic Cable That Costs Cable $1 in Programming Fees

Two Cablevision customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties are the lead complainants in a $250 million class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court alleging the cable operator is illegitimately charging customers for service knocked out by Hurricane Sandy.

The suit claims that unlike other cable and phone companies in New York and New Jersey extending automatic service outage credits to impacted customers, Cablevision is only giving credits to customers who self-report outages within 30 days.

Cablevision was the hardest hit cable operator in the region, with its coastal service areas on Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey receiving the brunt of storm surges and wind-related damage. At least half of the company’s three million customers were without service after the storm hit Oct. 29. Nearly 80,000 customers are still without power and utilities are signaling some may wait until after Christmas before lights are back on. Some of the most devastated areas are not scheduled for restoration at all because those properties will have to be abandoned or rebuilt.

The plaintiffs claim Cablevision, “only agreed to rebate some of its most favored customers on a discretionary basis and in varying amounts, and only after the customers’ contacted Cablevision for the rebate.” The suit also alleges customers threatening to cancel service are getting the most generous rebates.

The suit suggests Cablevision should have known not to bill or accept money from customers that remain without service. Many Cablevision customers are on the company’s electronic billing and autopay programs, which will continue to deduct money from bank accounts for services customers cannot actually receive.

“The lawsuit misstates the facts and is without merit,” Cablevision said in a statement. “But lawsuits aside, we have an extremely broad and customer friendly credit policy following Sandy. Blanket or arbitrary credits for cable outages could shortchange customers because each case is different and our policy covers the entire period of time when Cablevision service was out, including when the service interruption was caused by the loss of electrical power.”

Cablevision says the amount of damage to its facilities is so extensive, it could impact the next quarter’s financial results. Company officials also admit some of their customers will not be coming back because their homes and businesses no longer exist.

Other stories of interest:

1. Time Running Out on New England Cable/Phone Customers Seeking Storm-Related Credits
2. Where’s Our Refund? Cablevision Subscribers Want Credit for Now-Resolved TV Food Network/HGTV Spat
3. Cablevision Spins Off Madison Square Garden, Appreciates 2nd Quarter Broadband Profits
4. Cablevision Gets $37.5 Million Tax Credit to Stay in New Jersey
5. HissyFitWatch: A Fee Dispute Causes Cablevision Subscribers to Lose WABC-TV New York