• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 4, 2010

Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge said the company employed sound cost-benefit analysis during its recent battle with News Corp. By paying News Corp. less than the media giant sought, those savings will make up for any subscriber defections over time.  

"We think we did the rational thing," he said.

The New York-area cable operator declined to specify how many subscribers it may have lost from the carriage dispute that left Fox and MyNetworkTV off its system. That figure could come early next year.

There should be no more carriage disputes involving the major broadcast networks anytime soon. Cablevision now has deals with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

Rutledge said the company was dismayed that the government did not step in to help resolve the News Corp. standoff. "We thought the FCC should be involved ... yes, we were disappointed that they chose not to be."

Cablevision was unwilling to "carry the services at the prices that were being pushed to us" by News Corp, he added. That's likely to spark higher prices for customers, which it intended to avoid in the current economic climate.

As the standoff progressed, negative advertising and incessant press-release ripostes ensued. Rutledge said it was a "very unpleasant way of doing business, having a major conflict like that in public."

He spoke on a call to discuss Cablevision's performance during the July-September period -- which did not cover the News Corp. battle. Cablevision lost less than 1% of its TV customers in the quarter, but it said the third quarter is its toughest of the year.