Sept 16 (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp has agreed to be purchased by European telecommunications company Altice SA, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The cable company could be bought for about $17.7 billion, including debt, the newspaper reported Wednesday. (http://nyti.ms/1F3kZKc)

Altice and Cablevision could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Wills)