Cablevision Systems (News - Alert) saw higher net income and revenues during the recent first quarter but had lower growth than expected in its vital New York metropolitan market.

Reuters reports that Cablevision saw quarterly net income increasing to $104.1 million, from $74.2 million during the same period in 2010. In addition, quarterly revenue increased 9.7 percent to $1.92 billion, Reuters (News - Alert) adds.

Shares of Cablevision stock fell about 2-1/2 percent with concerns from investors that the company’s number of video subscribers in the New York region was lower than anticipated, Reuters reports.

Verizon Communications’ FiOS (News - Alert) digital video service also remains a rival to Cablevision in the New York region, Reuters said.

Cablevision lost 7,000 video subscribers based on numbers from the first quarter, according to Reuters.

In his analysis, Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan said that Cablevision is not fully recovered from the loss of customers after a 15-day blackout of Fox channels in October, 2010, Reuters said.

“The results were lackluster across the board,” Eagan told Reuters.

Cablevision acquired Bresnan Communications recently. Cablevision Executive Vice President Gregg Seibert said the company may acquire more companies if the price is right, Reuters said.

“We are going to continue to look at acquisition opportunities,” Seibert told Reuters.

In addition, Cablevision said its Rainbow unit will be called “AMC Networks” when it is spun off in 2011, Reuters reported.

In looking at the recent quarter, Cablevision President and CEO James L. Dolan said in a statement carried by TMCnet, “Cablevision generated strong increases in revenue and AOCF. This performance was driven by steady growth in our Rainbow business as well as our cable business, which this quarter included a solid showing from the recently acquired Bresnan properties. The company generated more than $290 million in free cash flow for the quarter and we have increased the dividend by 20 percent, enabling us to provide Cablevision shareholders with even more value. Lastly, we remain on track with our planned spin-off of Rainbow, which we continue to believe will also be beneficial for shareholders.”  

In an analysis of the quarter, a report carried on TMCnet said that the company’s “growing profits from its cable business, particularly from the sale of telecommunications services to businesses, and a rebound in advertising for its cable networks were partly offset by higher losses from a segment that includes the Long Island-based Newsday daily newspaper and a theatre chain.”