• by Wayne Friedman , November 9, 2005

On the heels of the unpopular decision last month by Cablevision Systems Corp. not to take the company private, the company reported a $62.9 million loss in the third quarter--a loss that narrowed slightly over the same period of a year ago.

Cablevision also reversed a decision to sell off its prized possession--its Rainbow Media Holdings group which consists of cable networks IFC, AMC, WE: Women's Entertainment, music channel Fuse, and its regional sports channels. That position was reiterated by company President and CEO James Dolan in a conference call to analysts on Tuesday--the channels were not for sale.

That's probably good news, considering the division's improved advertising position. Rainbow Media Holdings President and CEO Joshua Sapan said that the division had a strong upfront advertising sales period over the summer, and that revenues remain strong in the fourth-quarter scatter market.

Revenue at Rainbow's entertainment networks, AMC, Independent Film Channel, and WE: Women's Entertainment rose 11 percent to $144.2 million. Some of that growth came from direct response advertisers--which analysts say aren't the quality, longer-term advertisers TV networks advertising sales executives look to for future growth.

General TV market advertising conditions have seen fourth-quarter scatter market sales for all national TV networks improve slightly, with pricing up from upfront deals concluded over the summer.

Overall, Cablevision witnessed a revenue hike of 11.2 percent to $1.24 billion for the period. The company expects the remainder of 2005--and for the year as a whole--to be in the mid-teens percentage for its total cable-revenue growth over 2004.

Higher revenue was the result of video, voice, and Internet services sales, said Dolan. Cablevision's basic video business rose 2 percent from the same period a year earlier, but digital-video subscriber growth improved by 38 percent. During the period, AMC earned its highest prime-time quarterly ratings ever with just under a 1.0 household rating.

In late October, Cablevision dropped its bid to take the company private--and in response, the company's shares sank sharply. At the same time, it also announced plans for a $3 billion special dividend to shareholders, which would reap $690 million for James Dolan and his father Charles Dolan, chairman and founder of Cablevision. The dividend has yet to receive final approval. The shares closed at $25.51, down 5 cents.