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DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND RELATED MATTERS | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND RELATED MATTERS | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND RELATED MATTERS The Company and Related Matters Altice USA, Inc. ("Altice USA" or the "Company") was incorporated in Delaware on September 14, 2015. Prior to the Altice N.V. distribution discussed below, Altice USA was majority-owned by Altice N.V., a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootshcap) under Dutch law. Since the completion of the Altice N.V. distribution discussed below, the Company is no longer majority-owned by Altice N.V. Altice N.V. changed its name to Altice Europe N.V. ("Altice Europe") upon completion of the distribution. The Company provides broadband communications and video services in the United States. It delivers broadband, pay television, telephony services, proprietary content and advertising services to residential and business customers. Altice N.V., through a subsidiary, acquired Cequel Corporation ("Cequel" or "Suddenlink") on December 21, 2015 (the "Cequel Acquisition") and Cequel was contributed to Altice USA on June 9, 2016. Altice USA acquired Cablevision Systems Corporation ("Cablevision" or "Optimum") on June 21, 2016 (the "Cablevision Acquisition"). The Company classifies its operations into two reportable segments: Cablevision, which operates in the New York metropolitan area, and Cequel, which principally operates in markets in the south-central United States. The accompanying condensed combined consolidated financial statements ("condensed consolidated financial statements") include the accounts of the Company and all subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest and gives effect to the ATS Acquisition and the i24 Acquisition discussed below on a combined basis. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying condensed consolidated operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 reflect the retrospective adoption of Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers and ASU No. 2017-07 Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715). See Note 3 for further details of the impact on the Company's historical financial statements. In June 2017, the Company completed its initial public offering ("IPO") of 71,724,139 shares of its Class A common stock. The Company’s Class A common stock began trading on June 22, 2017, on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ATUS". Acquisition of Altice Technical Services US Corp ATS was formed in 2017 to provide network construction and maintenance services and commercial and residential installations, disconnections, and maintenance. During the second quarter of 2017, a substantial portion of the Company's technical workforce at the Cablevision segment either accepted employment with ATS or became employees of ATS and ATS commenced operations and began to perform services for the Company. A substantial portion of the Cequel segment technical workforce became employees of ATS in December 2017. In January 2018, the Company acquired 70% of the equity interests in Altice Technical Services US Corp. ("ATS") for $1.00 (the "ATS Acquisition") and the Company became the owner of 100% of the equity interests in ATS in March 2018. ATS was previously owned by Altice N.V. and a member of ATS's management through a holding company. As the acquisition was a combination of businesses under common control, the Company combined the results of operations and related assets and liabilities of ATS for all periods since its formation. See Note 3 for the impact of the ATS Acquisition on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 and on the Company's statement of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017. Acquisition of i24NEWS In April 2018, Altice N.V. transferred its ownership of i24 US and i24 Europe ("i24NEWS"), Altice N.V.'s 24/7 international news and current affairs channels to the Company for minimal consideration (the "i24 Acquisition"). As the acquisition was a combination of businesses under common control, the Company combined the results of operations and related assets and liabilities of i24NEWS as of April 1, 2018. Operating results for periods prior to April 1, 2018 and the balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 have not been revised to reflect the i24 Acquisition as the impact was deemed immaterial. Altice N.V. Distribution On June 8, 2018, Altice N.V. distributed substantially all of its equity interest in the Company through a distribution in kind to holders of Altice N.V.'s common shares A and common shares B (the “Distribution”). The Distribution took place by way of a special distribution in kind by Altice N.V. of its 67.2% interest in the Company to Altice N.V. shareholders. Each shareholder of Altice N.V. on May 23, 2018, the Distribution record date, received 0.4163 shares of the Company's common stock for every share held by such shareholder in Altice N.V. Between May 24, 2018 and June 4, 2018, each Altice N.V. shareholder was given the opportunity to elect the percentage of shares of the Company's Class A common stock and shares of the Company's Class B common stock such shareholder would receive in the Distribution, whereby the number of shares of the Company's Class B common stock to be distributed was subject to a cap of 50% of the total shares of the Company's common stock being distributed (the “Class B Cap”). Because the Class B Cap had been exceeded, the shares of the Company's Class B common stock delivered to Altice N.V.’s shareholders of record who elected to receive them were subject to proration, and such shareholders received shares of the Company's Class A common stock. Immediately following the Distribution, there were 489,384,523 shares of Altice USA Class A common stock and 247,684,443 shares of Altice USA Class B common stock outstanding. Prior to Altice N.V.'s announcement of the Distribution, the Board of Directors of Altice USA, acting through its independent directors, approved the payment of a $2.035 dividend to all shareholders of record on May 22, 2018. The payment of the dividend, aggregating $1,499,935, was made on June 6, 2018, and was funded with cash at CSC Holdings LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cablevision, from financings completed in January 2018, and cash generated from operations at Cequel. In connection with the payment of the dividend, the Company recorded a decrease in retained earnings of $536,224, representing the cumulative earnings through the payment date, and a decrease in paid in capital of $963,711. In connection with the Distribution, the Management Advisory and Consulting Services Agreement with Altice N.V. which provided certain consulting, advisory and other services was terminated. Compensation under the terms of the agreement was an annual fee of $30,000 paid by the Company. In addition, the Board of Directors of Altice USA also authorized a share repurchase program of $2.0 billion, effective June 8, 2018. Under the repurchase program, shares of Altice USA Class A common stock may be purchased from time to time in the open market and may include trading plans entered into with one or more brokerage firms in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Size and timing of these purchases will be determined based on market conditions and other factors. From inception through September 30, 2018, the Company repurchased an aggregate of 13,219,909 shares for a total purchase price of approximately $240,799. These acquired shares were retired and the cost for these shares was recorded in paid in capital in the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet. As of September 30, 2018, the Company had approximately $1,759,201 of availability remaining under its stock repurchase program and had 723,849,057 combined Class A and Class B shares outstanding.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122149 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2197479 + Details
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