Cablevision Posts Subscriber Losses in Third Quarter

Cablevision Systems Corp., which has agreed to sell itself to Europe's Altice NV, said it lost about 10,000 customers in the third quarter as profit and revenue declined.

As it awaits the closure of the Altice deal—expected in the first half of 2016—Cablevision said it has suspended its stock buyback program and doesn't expect to pay any dividends.

Altice, which has built an empire stretching from Israel to France, will pay about $10 billion for U.S.-based Cablevision. The takeover will hoist Altice into the ranks of top U.S. cable operators.

Cablevision has been aggressively targeting viewers who are looking to "cut the cord." The company has unveiled a variety of efforts targeted at these customers in recent months from $15-a-month streaming-video service unveiled in July to becoming the first pay-TV provider to saying it will offer HBO's stand-alone streaming.

Cablevision said its total customer base—businesses or households that subscribe to at least one service—was 3.11 million as of Sept. 30, down from 3.12 million as of June 30, and 3.13 million at the end of the prior-year period.

The company lost 33,000 video subscribers and 20,000 voice subscribers. But it added 3,000 high-speed Internet customers, bringing its total to 2.78 million as of Sept. 30.

The results come amid growing concern about the future health of the TV ecosystem, as younger consumers increasingly turn away from pay-TV to the Internet for their viewing.

Average monthly cable revenue per customer grew to $155.04 from $154.50 in the prior-year period.

In all, Cablevision posted a profit of $23.1 million, or 8 cents a share, down from $71.5 million, or 26 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue ticked down slightly to $1.61 billion from $1.63 billion a year earlier.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2015 18:15 ET (23:15 GMT)

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