SAN FRANCISCO (Standard&Poor's) May 20, 2014--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'BB' issue-level rating and '2' recovery rating to Cablevision Systems Corp. unit CSC Holdings LLC's $500 million senior notes due 2024 to be sold under Rule 144A with registration rights. The '2' recovery rating indicates our expectation for substantial (70%-90%) recovery for this unsecured debt in the event of payment default. We expect Cablevision Systems to use the bulk of proceeds to repay bank debt. The 'BB-' corporate credit rating on Bethpage, N.Y.-based cable operator Cablevision Systems is unchanged and the outlook remains stable. Cablevision's cable properties benefit from the good revenue visibility from their subscription-based business model; well-clustered operations; good demographics; and high-bandwidth plant.
