Cablevision sets June 30 as the end of the Rainbow

Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) has set a date to become the anti-Comcast. It will spin off AMC Networks (formerly known as Rainbow Media) on June 30, officially moving the MSO out of the cable TV business and reinforcing its position in the cable broadband business.

Of course Cablevision will not be wholly absent from the new AMC. The MSO's founder and chairman, Charles Dolan, will be executive chairman of the new AMC Networks business and Cablevision President-CEO James Dolan will be a member of the board of directors. Josh Sapan, current Rainbow CEO, will become president and CEO of AMC Networks.

Removing programming from its portfolio makes sense, James Dolan said, because, "Rainbow houses some of cable television's most admired networks while Cablevision's portfolio of industry-leading telecommunications and local content offerings has made it one of the nation's leading media and telecommunications companies."

For more:
- see this news release (PDF)

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