The third quarter is usually Cablevision’s weakest, but the company’s numbers actually turned out pretty strong and even beat analysts’ estimates. The Bethpage, Long Island, cable operator, which says it will have spin off its Madison Square Garden operations by year-end, saw net income triple to $98.4 million. The MSG entertainment unit, which houses the arena of the same name and several other NYC-area venues, as well as cable networks MSG and Fuse, the New York Knicks and Rangers, swung to a $12.3 million profit. In its primary New York market, Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) is fending off a strong challenge from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) FiOS.

SEE ALSO: Most Of Cablevision’s Newsday.com Goes Exclusive For Print, Optimum Online Subs

Earlier, the AP cited Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan’s forecast that Cablevision would lose 20,000 basic subscribers, but add 12,000 digital cable customers and 12,000 high-speed internet clients. Revenues at Cablevision’s daily newspaper Newsday were up a respectable 8.7 percent to $79.9 million. In light of its recent decision to limit most of Newsday.com’s content to print and cable subscribers, it will be interesting to see how advertising holds up in Q4.

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