Oct. 22, 2009 (Business Wire) -- 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.