Optimumis an American telecommunications brand owned and operated byAltice USA.[1]It is the fourth largest cable provider in the United States and aFortune 500company. Optimum offers Internet, television, mobile and home phone serving in 21 states.
 Logo used since September 2012 | |
| Company type | Brand |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessors |
|
| Founded | 1973(asCablevision) 2004(as Optimum) |
| Headquarters | Long Island City,Queens,New York, U.S. |
Area served | Arizona,Arkansas,California,Connecticut,Idaho,Kentucky,Louisiana,Mississippi,Missouri,New Jersey,New York,North Carolina,Oklahoma,Pennsylvania,Texas,West Virginia, Long Island |
Key people | Dennis Mathew, (Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Altice USA) Marc Sirota (Chief Financial Officer, Altice USA) |
| Services | Cable Television, High Speed Internet, Telephone, Mobile Phone, Advertising |
| Parent | Altice USA |
| Website | www |
History
editOptimum began as a "30-channel[2]system built in the 1970s "[3]using "copper cable" technology. Modernizations and expansions of their services included "a fiber optic network" and more channels, with an expanded set ofofferings.As of 2020, the name is still used.[4]
The originalOptimumpre-digitaltechnology was limited in the number of channels it could carry.[3]Thetrademark(styled asOPTIMUM) was "first in use in commerce in August 1994".[5]
Optimum as a Cablevision offering
edit
Following Optimum being acquired byCablevision,[6]the brand Optimum TV[7][better source needed]was used to market a more expensive offering with more channels.[3]By 2004 the nameOptimum Voicewas used to offer "a new phone service" based on cable-modem technology.[8]Like competing offerings from AT&T,"it stops working altogether if the power goes out".
TheOptimumname was also used to offer Cable-based Internet access;[9]Optimum also pioneered in optionally bundling this with TV access, using "streaming" technology. In what was termed "digital service"Interactive Optimumwas not first, but was early in steering the introduction of video-on-demand, alternate camera views for sporting events, andVCR-like rewind and replay.[6]Optimum Selectwas a related offering, "in which viewers could click on their remote controls to receive more information".[10]Similarly, regarding Optimum's branding andHBO Now,writesthe New York Times,"Cablevision’s Internet subscribers can order the service on the company’s website,Optimum.net.., or by calling. "[11]
Although references such as "Cablevision's Optimum"[12]do not include theAlticename, both names[13]reflect major market share: one study showedOptimum Voiceas the eight-largest phone service provider in the U.S.[14]The name's value was used for about two years when an acquisition held June 2010 through February 2013 was namedOptimum West.[15][16]
Interactive Optimum (iO)
edit
In late 2001, Interactive Optimum (iO Digital Cable Service)[6]combined "telephone, Internet, entertainment" with "60 channels of digital music and 20 channels of topics like antique car collecting, vegetarian cooking or wedding planning'.The New York Timesdescribed other cable companies in 2002 as having offered "merely a way of improving television reception". By 2004, there were 15 competitors, but the entire subscribing customer base for what others called "Interactive TV" was described as "still rare".[17]Advertising Agereported that "several high-profile ventures that had their plug pulled for troublesome economic or technological reasons".
Even so, by "playing catch-up"[18]iOand the rest of the company's offerings increased customer count from 689,000 (2004)[17]to over 3 million (2016).[19]
Altice USA
editAltice bought the Optimum brand and Cablevision for $17.7 billion in June 2016. Cablevision was combined withSuddenlink Communicationsto create Altice USA, the fourth largest operator in the United States.[20]
On March 1, 2021, Altice USA announced that it would acquire Morris Broadband in North Carolina for $310 million which was later closed on April 6, 2021. Altice later announced that Morris Broadband would be rebranded into the Optimum name, making it the first time since 2011 when under its predecessor, Cablevision, in which Optimum had systems outside of the New York area.[21][22]
In April 2022, Altice USA announced that SuddenLink was to be rebranded into Optimum. Because of this, Optimum will automatically expand its footprint to eleven additional states, in addition to expanding in North Carolina with its previous acquisition with Morris Broadband.[23]The rebranding was later completed by August 1, 2022.[1][24]
Narrowcasting
editWith the introduction of more than Optimum's original 30 channels,narrowcastingwas added to the service's offerings,[6]since it was now economical to provide "programs of much significance to small audiences."
Conflicts
editA New Jersey company that named itself "Optimum Networks Inc." was sued by then-owner Cablevision Systems Corporation (CSC) for violation of theOPTIMUMtrademark in 2010.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ab"Altice USA forges ahead with Suddenlink rebrand as sale rumors swirl".Fierce Telecom.1 August 2022.
- ^Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reportFederal Register– 1977 – Delegated legislation (Report). 1977. p. 54945.
The cable television system has a 30-channel capacity. Subscribers...
- ^abcLinda Saslow (April 6, 1997)."New Channels and New Costs for Cable TV".The New York Times.
in the older systems we maxed out on channels available.
- ^Denis Slattery (December 23, 2019)."State lawmaker slams Optimum over hidden fee, demands refund for customers".New York Daily News.
- ^ab"CSC HOLDINGS LLC v. Optimum Networks, Inc., 731 F. Supp. 2d 400 (D.N.J. 2010)".August 17, 2010.
- ^abcdWarren Strugatch (March 3, 2002)."L.I.@WORK: As Cablevision Sees the Future, It's Interactive".The New York Times.
instructional programs about bird-watching or fine wines.
- ^(2008: commonly referred to as "Family Basic" or "Family Cable" )
- ^David Pogue (April 8, 2004)."Connections; From Cablevision, Another Way to Carry Your Voice".The New York Times.
- ^Richard Sandomir (June 24, 2009)."Watching the Yankees on the Computer".The New York Times.
- ^Andrew Hampp (January 14, 2010)."Interactive Commercials Show Strong Early Results: Cablevision's Optimum Select Pleases Marketers".Advertising Age.
After years.. and several false starts.. the first.. to offer the technology
- ^Brian X. Chen (April 8, 2015)."HBO Now Makes 'Game of Thrones' Easier to See, if Not Follow".The New York Times.
- ^David Pogue (April 22, 2010)."A Convenient, Mysterious Service From Cable Companies".The New York Times.
- ^Stewart Ain (December 10, 2000). "Cable Customers to See Price Increase".The New York Times.
Cablevision's premium service, called Optimum Gold, will...
- ^"Research Notes"(PDF).Leichtman Research Group. April 2012. p. 6.
- ^Colorado,Montana,Utah,andWyoming.Serena Saitto (February 8, 2013)."Charter to Buy Optimum West for $1.63 Billion".Bloomberg L.P.Retrieved2013-02-08.
- ^"Charter Communications to Buy Optimum West".The Wall Street Journal.February 7, 2013.
- ^abSimon Applebaum (March 8, 2004)."Interactive TV shows signs of life".Advertising Age.
- ^Carin Rubenstein (January 5, 2003)."Going Digital".The New York Times.
- ^"Cable Industry Data".January 6, 2016.
- ^Littleton, Cynthia (2016-06-21)."Altice Completes Cablevision Acquisition, Creating No. 4 U.S. Cable Operator".Variety.Retrieved2020-03-24.
- ^"Altice USA Completes Acquisition of Morris Broadband".6 April 2021.
- ^"Altice USA to Acquire Morris Broadband".March 2021.
- ^Baumgartner, Jeff (April 5, 2022)."Suddenlink rebranding as 'Optimum' amid fiber upgrades".Light Reading.Informa Tech.
- ^"Suddenlink is Now Optimum"(Press release). Altice USA. August 1, 2022 – via BusinessWire.