Wall Street analysts are hammering Cablevision CEO Jim Dolan after the cable operator shed more customers than expected in the latest quarter.
Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson issued a particularly caustic report after the company’s disappointing third-quarter results, titled “Overpriced, Once-Proud Home in Once-Prime Neighborhood; Needs Lots of TLC. Willing to Negotiate.”
Moffett noted that subscriber losses were worse than expected and fell in every category for the first time, excluding the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Cablevision lost 68,000 subscribers, with 37,000 dropping video service and the rest ditching broadband and voice packages.
Moffett went so far as to suggest that the cable operator was only worth the amount of debt on its books.
Vijay Jayant at ISI also described the subscriber losses as “troubling.”
Albert Fried analyst Richard Tullo called for an outright sale of the company.
“In short, we think it’s time Cablevision merges with Comcast or Time Warner Cable or sells assets to both operators,” he told The Post.
Tullo also has been pushing for a sale of Cablevision-owned Newsday. The paper’s revenue fell $2.7 million to $63.9 million, while its loss widened slightly to $5.3 million.
Overall, Cablevision swung to a profit of $294.6 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with a loss of $3.8 million a year earlier when it was weighed down by charges. Revenue rose 2 percent to $1.57 billion.
Shares were off 3.5 percent to close at $15.08 Friday.