• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 9, 2011

Cablevision said its ad revenues in the New York market rose 13% in the second quarter, partly due to its efforts in advanced advertising. That's the seventh quarter in a row with double-digit growth, the company said.

The cable operator introduced a request-for-information option in the quarter, where viewers can use the remote control to request a coupon or brochure be sent to them via email. COO Tom Rutledge said that allows marketers to cut down on postage costs and gives the chance to send material more quickly.

Cablevision also has a telescoping option, where a viewer can watch long-form marketing content -- which Rutledge said brings "10 to 20 minutes of engagement," although he did not say how many consumers opt to view the content.

As the cabler continues to lose video customers, Rutledge said advertising continues to offer a "big opportunity" for growth, notably grabbing share from other media.

Partly to compete with Netflix, cable operators have tried to launch user interfaces that have more intuitive and easier-to-use search capabilities. It is testing a "Movie Explorer" product in 50,000 homes that includes a recommendation engine to help find appealing and targeted VOD content.

Cablevision said it has expanded the opportunity to watch channels live in the home on mobile devices to the iPhone and iTouch. And it has acquired some rights to make some networks available outside the home and hopes to make those available in the "relatively near future," Rutledge said.

Par for the course in cable, Cablevision said it lost 23,000 video customers in the New York area for the quarter, partly because "our telco competition remains active and the economy has seen little improvement."

Verizon has tried to peel customers away from the cable operator for its FiOS service, but Rutledge indicated competition from satellite operators has been less intense, with about 11% of customers in the footprint with a Dish Network or DirecTV subscription.

Including the acquisition of the Bresnan system in the Mountain West, Cablevision said revenues were up 9.1% to $1.69 billion in the quarter and net income rose from $60.86 million last year to $87.84 million.