Cablevision's video subscriber losses double

(Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp said video subscriber losses in the first quarter doubled from a year ago, as the cable TV company's customers continued to shift to lower-priced bundled services from telecom carriers. The company, which operates primarily in the Greater New York area, also reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit as technical and operating costs increased. Cablevision lost about 28,000 video subscribers in the first quarter ended March 31, up from the 14,000 it lost a year earlier. The company has lost video subscribers for 11 consecutive quarters now, as it struggles to fend off competition from telecom companies such as Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc, which lure away subscribers with bundled telecom and satellite TV services at competitive prices. Cablevision, under pressure to stop consumers from "cutting the cord" and shifting to internet video services such as Netflix and Hulu, has said it would offer HBO's standalone streaming service, HBO Now, and Hulu's video streaming service to its broadband customers. The company, controlled by New York's Dolan family, said adjusted operating cash flow, a closely watched metric for the industry, rose 4.5 percent to $454 million in the quarter. Net income attributable to Cablevision stockholders fell to $44.6 million, or 16 cents per share, for the first quarter, from $89.8 million, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier. Net income from continuing operations was 20 cents per share. Revenue rose to $1.61 billion from $1.58 billion. Analysts expected a profit of 17 cents per share on revenue of $1.60 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Sai Sachin R and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)