When the billionaire Dolan family sold the News 12 franchise to Altice USA, they had written into the sales agreement that Altice would "protect News 12’s legacy, including its employees."

As part of the deal, Altice agreed to maintain at least 462 full-time employees at News 12 and their salaries through at least the end of 2020, even if it meant incurring up to $60 million in losses.

So, when Altice started laying off people, the Dolan's stepped in and filed a lawsuit.

You have to give the Dolan family credit for not just selling their company for a pile of cash and walking away. They actually tried to protect the employees, which is something you almost never see in the world of TV, where people are treated more like a number on a balance sheet, that a human being.

FTVLive obtained the memo that Altice sent to employees about the lawsuit and how they are trying to spin all of this. The memo never addresses the layoffs and only tries to say how great everything is.

Here's that internal memo:

News 12 Team,

Late this afternoon, Pat Dolan, Jim Dolan, other members of the Dolan family, and Colleen McVey filed a lawsuit against Altice USA making false allegations regarding our News 12 business over the last few years, and I want to address this matter with you directly.

Altice USA is 100% committed to our entire news business, including News 12. As you know, earlier this year, we created a specialized business unit – Altice USA News – investing in our central goal to grow our audiences and enhance the news offerings for the communities we serve. We also have plans to invest in our studio infrastructure and technology.

Our ratings and digital growth show that viewers are responding positively to our efforts. Under Altice USA’s leadership, News 12 remains the most viewed TV network in Optimum households. This achievement reflects the uniqueness of News 12’s hyperlocal content and the high value viewers place on news that is tailored to their neighborhoods.

News 12’s ratings have outpaced those of the local network affiliates during the key morning daypart in the first half of 2018, according to viewership data from Optimum set top boxes. News 12’s digital viewership is growing, experiencing a nearly 20 percent increase in average unique visitors across all digital platforms in the first half of 2018 compared to full-year 2017. The network also saw an increase of more than 50 percent in total average video views on News 12’s websites during the same period.

The success of our business is driven by all of you, and I thank you for your ongoing dedication and commitment to journalistic excellence. Local news has never been more important, and I am proud to lead the most talented journalists and staff in the business.

At this time, we are in active litigation so I am limited in the details I can share on the lawsuit. While proceedings continue, let’s remain focused on our business and our day-to-day responsibility of delivering the local news our viewers need and want.

As always, your managers and I are available to answer any questions you may have.

Michael Schreiber
President, Altice USA News