Cablevision posts surprising subscriber gain : US Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp on Thursday posted a surprising gain in cable subscribers, despite an unexpected first-quarter loss as a result of a loss on derivative contracts.

The New York-based cable television operator reported first-quarter net loss of $31.6 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $26.3 million, or 9 cents a share a year earlier.

Revenue rose 10.1 percent to $1.721 billion.

Wall Street analysts had on average been expecting a profit of 2 cents a share on revenue of $1.708 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Cablevision countered most analysts' expectations and added 2,000 basic video subscribers during the quarter. Eight analysts polled by Reuters had on average been expecting Cablevision to lose 4,000 subscribers as it faces more competition from phone and satellite TV rivals.

The cable company also added 41,000 digital video subscribers and 61,000 high speed Internet subscribers during the quarter. It also added another 93,000 digital phone subscribers.

Average revenue per subscriber rose 11 percent to $129.56 from the year-ago period.

Cablevision's Rainbow Media unit, which houses cable networks such as AMC and IFC, posted a 16 percent rise in net revenue to $225 million during the quarter.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Derek Caney)

(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.