Cablevision said it expected 100,000 set-top boxes to be installed by the end of the year, compared with earlier estimates of 500,000. The news dragged down the rest of the cable sector, Smith said. Cox Communications Inc. Looking forward, the company said it expects 2001 pro forma revenue growth in its combined cable TV, consumer cable modem, and Long Island Lightpath telephone businesses of 10 percent to 12 percent, operating cash flow growth of 13 percent to 15 percent and 1.75 percent basic subscriber growth in 2001. The company said it expects to end 2001 with 475,000 cable modem customers, up from 238,000 at the end of 2000.
Cable modems are a means of high speed Internet access via cable lines.
Basic subscriber growth in the New York metropolitan area climbed 2.0 percent, compared with December 1999. Its Rainbow Media Group, which controls the Bravo, American Movie Classics and Independent Film Channel cable channels, plus several regional sports channels, showed a 28 percent increase in cash flow on a 22 percent rise in revenues. Cablevision shareholders are slated to vote on Friday whether to approve the creation of a tracking stock for the Rainbow unit.