Altice USA
Careers at Altice USA
Mission
Altice USA’s mission is to commit to its customers, its employees, and its local communities.
History
In 1960 Charles Dolan, a producer of industrial films, launched cable TV company Sterling Manhattan Cable. Over the next few years he wired various hotels in New York City so they could receive the service, which included the channel HBO. In 1965 the firm won a contract to implement a cable TV system in Manhattan’s southern half, receiving assistance from wealthy partners such as Time, Inc.
Unfortunately, Sterling acquired large debts, preventing it from completing the system. In 1973 Time, which had become an owner of 80% of the company, liquidated its assets and purchased both the system and HBO. Dolan used his earnings from the sale to launch a new system in Long Island, called Cablevision. The new firm grew rapidly and expanded to New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Cablevision offered a free month of HBO to its customers, and obtained the rights to air games by the New York Yankees, Mets, Nets, and Islanders. It also sold channels in blocks at a lower price than they would cost individually. These perks encouraged 90% of first-timers to continue the service at a rate of $6 per month. The company’s success allowed it to raise significant venture capital.
Despite its strong cash flow, Cablevision saw few profits due to the capital-intensive nature of the industry. It addressed this by forming limited partnerships with various business magnates such as Milton Friedman and Hugh Hefner. By 1980, when the cable business had begun to achieve prominence, it was worth $250 million, had $14 million in cash flow, and had 155,000 customers.
The next two decades saw many milestones. The firm formed a subsidiary called Rainbow Programming Services, with channels including American Movie Classics, Newsday, and Sports Channel. It expanded into the Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago areas. In June 2016 communications company Altice Group acquired Cablevision for $17.7 billion and it was renamed Altice USA.
Logo © by Altice (Wikimedia Commons) under CC BY-SA 4.0
Business model of Altice USA
Customer Segments
Altice USA has a segmented market business model, with customer groups that have slightly different needs. The company targets its offerings at individuals, businesses, and nonprofits.
Value Proposition
Altice USA offers two primary value propositions: accessibility and brand/status.
The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. It offers a broad range of services through the following specific brands:
- Suddenlink – Provides Suddenlink-branded digital cable television, high-speed Internet, and voice services to residential and business customers across the western, midwestern, and southern states. Additionally, for its business customers, it provides targeted online and TV advertising services.
- Optimum – Provides services in the New York tri-state area, including Optimum-branded digital cable television, high-speed Internet and voice services, and Optimum WiFi.
- Lightpath – Provides customized commercial telecommunications services and solutions for medium- and large-size businesses, including hospitals and schools in the New York tri-state area.
- CMS – Provides regional and local advertising for businesses across a wide range of platforms, including interactive channels, on-demand services, and cable television networks, powered by census-level data and data analytics solutions.
- News 12 Networks – A 24-hour local television news network with seven individual local news channels and five traffic and weather channels. It serves Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Westchester, Hudson Valley, the Bronx, and Brooklyn.
- News 12 Varsity – Provides a website, mobile app, and interactive service dedicated to high school sports throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The company has established a strong brand due to its success. It is the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S., providing residential and business services to over 4.6 million customers across 20 states. It has 18,000 employees worldwide and generated $8.93 billion in revenues in 2015. It offers 12 regional news, traffic, and weather channels and produces three print publications. Lastly, its News 12 Networks brand is the first, largest, and most watched 24-hour local television news network in the country.
Channels
Altice USA’s main channels are its brand websites and its direct sales team. The company promotes its offerings through its social media pages and advertising.
Customer Relationships
Altice USA’s customer relationship is primarily of a personal assistance nature. A service representative visits customers’ homes to install equipment and connect them to its systems. Afterwards, if there are any questions, users can contact its call centers for assistance from a live individual and schedule another visit if necessary. That said, there is also a self-service component as basic inquiries can be answered on its websites.
Key Activities
Altice USA’s business model entails designing, developing, and delivering its communications services for its customers.
Key Partners
Altice USA’s key partners are cable networks, local broadcast television stations, customer premise equipment manufacturers, communications vendors, and multichannel video providers. It signs contracts with each in order to provide its services to customers.
Key Resources
Altice USA’s main resources are its cable distribution systems, customer premise equipment, other equipment, and buildings. It also depends heavily on human resources in the form of its customer service staff and installation employees.
Cost Structure
Altice USA has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation. Its biggest cost driver is likely operating/technical costs, a fixed expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of sales/marketing and administration, both fixed costs.
Revenue Streams
Altice USA has three revenue streams: revenues generated from fees paid for video, data, and voice services; from fees paid for installation of equipment; and from fees paid by third parties for advertising services rendered.
