Cablevision Chairman: No Plans To Go Private

Charles Dolan, chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC), said Thursday that his family isn't considering another attempt at taking the cable and entertainment conglomerate private after its previous offer was rejected by shareholders in 2007.

Under questioning from shareholders at its annual meeting at the company's headquarters, Dolan reiterated that the company is considering spinning off its Madison Square Garden assets - which include the arena, the New York Knicks and Rangers sports teams, and other properties - to shareholders as a separate public company.

"During this difficult economic time, anything more ambitious than that is not appropriate at this time," said Dolan.

In 2007, Cablevision offered to buy back its shares outstanding for $36.26 apiece, a price negotiated higher by shareholder groups over a period of months. The offer ultimately was voted down at a special meeting of shareholders held in the fall of that year.

Shares of Cablevision recently traded down 3.9% at $19.11.

Kim Kerns, a spokeswoman for Cablevision, declined to comment further on the company's exploration of a spin-off of MSG. Cablevision didn't elaborate on that topic at the meeting.

Its six Class A directors and 11 Class B directors were re-elected without incident at the meeting, and several company proposals were approved by the shareholders relating to its accounting and employee stock purchase plans.

The company's chief operating officer, Tom Rutledge, said circulation of Newsday, the Long Island-based tabloid Cablevision acquired last year, is down 3% year-over-year and its advertising revenue is under pressure - a trend found throughout the beleaguered publishing industry.

Rutledge said the company is looking for ways Newsday can generate new revenue streams online using Cablevision's subscriber base. The company has said it will end access to free Web content from Newsday later this year.

Dolan said he has been a Newsday subscriber for "a half a century."

-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5216; [e-mail]