Cablevision Is Crackling

I'd be less than candid if I didn't admit to being impressed by Cablevision's (NYSE: CVC) most recent quarterly results. Indeed, with other operators cranking out good -- but not great -- numbers, and hard on the heels of the founding Dolan family's efforts to take the company private, Cablevision's results appear to have stolen the cable show.

For the quarter, the company was able to open its bottle of black ink, with earnings of $6.6 million, or $0.02 a share, compared to a loss of $23.9 million, or $0.08 a share, in the final quarter of 2006. And turning to its favorite metric, adjusted operating cash flow, management pointed out that the figure increased by 20.4% over the same quarter a year ago. Total revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% to $1.8 billion.

Cablevision is clearly benefiting from the quality and location of its assets. The company serves about 3 million subscribers in the generally upscale metropolitan New York area. It also owns Madison Square Garden Arena, Radio City Music Hall, and a handful of professional sports teams. In addition, it recently added the Chicago Theater to its lineup.

The company's operating metrics for the quarter included growth in digital video, phone service, and high-speed data. And amid the growth, it managed to expand its margins, increase its ad sales, and trim its capital spending. It also appears to be weathering competition from Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS television offering.

Last year the Dolans' persistent efforts to acquire the shares of Cablevision they don't already own were finally rebuffed by shareholders, largely on the basis of price. Now, as was avowed by CEO Jim Dolan on the company's call with analysts, management's desired approach will be to utilize the company's increasing cash flow to foster growth at Cablevision. Dolan wasn't specific about the form that growth might take.

The market was obviously pleased with Cablevision's results, increasing the company's share price by 3.7% Thursday in a sloppy market. Clearly, those results put Cablevision ahead of Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), and Charter (Nasdaq: CHTR) in the quarterly performance dash. On that basis alone, I'm inclined to keep a close eye on the company and suggest my Foolish friends do the same.

For related Foolishness:

• You Sank My Comcast Battleship!
• Comcast's Paying Attention
• The Television Giants Are Rumbling