News Squib#9- Are You Stupid, Cablevision ? Or Is It Moi?

Extra News TodayIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Quelle Horreur! My Internet and Cable Tv Company Was Bought by the French. This is What Happened Next

 

I was too wrapped up in Election 2016 to pay much attention to a nugget of local news, namely that Altice, a European telecom corporation, snapped up Cablevision, my cable tv and internet provider in July for $17.7 billion. So, while I knew the company and its service arm Optimum had been sold,  I had no details about the deal.

Monsieur Cheapskate

bethpage-welcome-sign

For example, I had no idea that Altice owner, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, is apparently a bit of a “hard-nosed cheapskate,” and has reportedly stated on the record: “I don’t like to pay salaries.” Nor did I know that he had started laying off (the highest paid) employees and introducing draconian cost-cutting measures as soon as the deal for Cablevision was signed. Continue reading “News Squib#9- Are You Stupid, Cablevision ? Or Is It Moi?”