Earnings results will open up Comcast, Cablevision subscriber numbers

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) will both announce fourth quarter results this week and analysts hope to get a glimpse into whether the top MSOs have stemmed the flow of departing basic video subscribers.

Comcast, with the purchase of NBCUniversal now in its rear view mirror, is expected to continue to leak basic video subscribers and gain high-speed data customers. While that will be a subject of the earnings conference call, it's expected much of the discussion will be on how Comcast deals with its NBCUniversal properties.

Cablevision will be adding subscribers--but only because it completed its purchase of Bresnan Communications. "The company's ability to keep or gain subscribers beyond that will be a focus of the earnings report," according to Bloomberg. Also a focus for Cablevision, the ongoing fallout of nasty retransmission disputes with Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and News Corp.'s (Nasdaq: NWSA) Fox Network.

For more:
- Forbes.com has this story
- Bloomberg has this story

Related articles:
3Q results: Comcast keeps making money, losing subscribers
Cablevision raising pay TV rates; high speed data, phone fees stay constant