Cablevision Reviews Options Program for Potential Backdating

August 9, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A New York cable TV operator announced it is reviewing its stock option program and delaying the release of its second-quarter earnings.

Cablevision Systems Corporation of Bethpage, New York, also warned that its financial results for the previous nine years should not be relied on, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Cablevision indicated the size of the financial adjustment it might need to make has yet to be determined, the Journal said.

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More than 80 companies are under federal investigation over the timing of their option grants. Dozens of companies have said they will need to restate earnings as a result of option troubles, and several executives have left their posts.

The issue in the backdating probes is whether companies or individuals manipulated grants to carry low strike prices for maximum financial benefit to the recipient.

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