2009-10-22 13:24:03 -

Newsday today announced that newsday.com, the popular news and information Web site for Long Islanders, will become an exclusive benefit for Newsday home delivery and Optimum Online customers at no additional cost, starting October 28, 2009. This pioneering Web model brings together Newsday’s newsgathering capabilities with Cablevision’s industry-leading electronic distribution. Approximately 75 percent of Long Island households are already Newsday home delivery and/or Optimum Online customers and will enjoy unlimited access to newsday.com, as will all of Cablevision's Optimum Online customers throughout the New York area, which total 2.5 million households.

For anyone who is not a Newsday home delivery or Optimum Online customer, there will be access to limited public content on newsday.com, including the homepage, classifieds, school closings, obituaries,

weather and entertainment listings. If users request additional access, they can either become a Newsday home delivery or Optimum Online customer, or they can access the site by paying a $5.00 weekly fee, which amounts to approximately $20.00 a month.

“This groundbreaking approach to newsday.com delivers added value directly for Newsday and Optimum Online customers,” said Tad Smith, president of Local Media. “Providing exclusive benefits for our customers is something Cablevision has been doing for decades, starting with the launch of News 12 in 1986. We look forward to growing this unique service and, with Newsday’s tremendous understanding of the Long Island market, believe that newsday.com will be a terrific resource for news and information specifically tailored to the local community.”


“Newsday has a 70-year history of serving its readers on Long Island with news, information and resources that enrich their lives and connect them with their communities,” says Terry Jimenez, Newsday Publisher. “We know this market, and through newsday.com will deliver a customizable service that enables Long Islanders to get the information they want and need as part of their daily lives. In addition to providing greater value for Newsday and Optimum Online customers, we also look forward to better serving our advertisers with new interactive services that deliver a more focused and engaged consumer audience for their products.”

This past summer, newsday.com started its transformation to become a dynamic, multimedia tool focused specifically on the Long Island market and continues to add new features and functionality designed to provide users with a more personalized and relevant experience. These include.

- “News Near You,” a zip code driven news feature that allows users to receive news and information specific to their hometown
- “My News,” which allows users to customize a Web page where, they can scan up-to-the-minute news on the topics, teams and themes they care about most
- Content-specific newsletters and alerts delivered from newsday.com via email or SMS/text to their mobile devices, giving users the information they want in the format they choose
- Detailed search options on exploreLI.com that help ensure users find just the right event, restaurant or venue based on price, genre, ambiance, location and more
- A state-of-the-art high definition player on which users can view a broad assortment of sports, entertainment, local news and other videos


Starting October 28, Optimum Online customers will enjoy seamless and automatic access through their Cablevision modem to newsday.com. In order to access the site when they are away from home, Optimum Online customers will need to complete a simple, one-time registration. Newsday home delivery customers will also be asked to complete a simple registration in order to enjoy full, unlimited access to newsday.com.

Newsday is one of the nation’s largest daily newspapers, serving Long Island through its print editions, and newsday.com. Newsday has won 19 Pulitzer Prizes and other esteemed journalism awards. Newsday is read by seven out of 10 Long Island adults each week. Newsday Media Group includes Newsday, its popular Web sites, newsday.com, ExploreLI.com; amNewYork, the nation's most widely circulated free daily serving New York City; and Star Community Publishing, the Northeast's largest group of weekly shopper publications. Newsday is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation.

Cablevision Systems Corporation is one of the nation's leading media and entertainment companies. Its cable television operations serve more than 3 million households in the New York metropolitan area. The company's advanced telecommunications offerings include its iO TV® digital television, Optimum Online® high-speed Internet, Optimum Voice® digital voice-over-cable, and its Optimum Lightpath integrated business communications services. Cablevision operates several successful programming businesses, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv, through Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, and serves the New York area as publisher of Newsday and other niche publications through Newsday Media Group. In addition to these businesses, Cablevision owns Madison Square Garden and its sports teams, the New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty.
The company also operates New York's famed Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, and The Chicago Theatre, and owns and operates Clearview Cinemas.

NewsdayDeidra Parrish Williams, 631-843-3783Director, Media
Relations dparrishwilliams@newsday.com : mailto:dparrishwilliams@newsday.com