KAMEN & CO. GROUP SERVICES, LLC

Media Appraiser Kevin Kamen: Look for Cablevision To Streamline Departments At Media Group

(Baldwin, N.Y.) – New York based media appraiser and broker Kevin Kamen, President/CEO of Kamen & Co Group Services of Baldwin expects that the new hiring of Tad Smith as the head of Cablevision’s News Group will soon bring about many changes in the form of cutbacks, revenue enhancers, several program upgrades and possibly the consolidation of the Saturday/Sunday newspaper, as well as a subscriber fee for utilizing Newsday online. Kamen stated, “This appointment sends a loud and clear message to Long Island that suggests Cablevision needs to turn things around structurally and Smith has been identified to carry the large stick.

Something has not been going well in Cablevisionland and a new path is required at this juncture. Mr. Smith is going to need to become creative and do some heavy lifting rather quickly because it is evident that not everything has gone as once planned and hoped for at Cablevision. Publisher Tim Knight at Newsday is going to be told to make tough choices and will need to increase both revenue and circulation numbers by the end of this year and doing so will be almost an impossible task to ascertain. Redesigning the newspaper was a marginal change but something dramatic is going to have to happen at Newsday that can help change the financial picture substantially. I would suspect cutbacks and redefining the mission of the newspaper in this digital climate will bring some unrest to the newspaper and particularly to the editorial department.” Kamen continued, ” News 12 programs can expect to be upgraded under his watch to compete in this economical climate. The news telecasts are presented in a 1970’s format and must be upgraded. Newsday recently made changes to its design and layout but the savings is not one of significance. Much needs to be evaluated and contemplated to help increase revenue streams across the board. With Verizon stepping up its news coverage and becoming a viable alternative for Long Islanders, a strong voice and direction is necessary at this juncture and it would be fair to assume that change is in the wind at  Cablevision and for good reason.”