Cablevision to meet top shareholders

Cablevision Systems Corp's top executives and its biggest shareholders are expected to meet next week as part of a campaign to patch up relations with Wall Street and test the waters for its strategic options, the Wall Street Journal said, citing investors and analysts.

Earlier this week, the New York cable operator said it would hire investment banks to evaluate a spin-off of at least one of its business, among other strategies including repurchasing stock or initiating dividend payments. The outreach to shareholders marks a significant shift for Cablevision, a company that is often criticized for not being receptive enough to shareholder interests, the paper said.

Gabelli & Co, the institutional research affiliate of Gamco Investors Inc, one of Cablevision's top shareholders, will host the meetings, the Journal said, citing one investor. Cablevision did not immediately return calls seeking comments.

Rich Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Capital, noted that the meetings would be the first time Cablevision executives have met with investors in years, the paper said. A Collins Stewart analyst earlier this week said a likely scenario was for Cablevision to spin off Rainbow Networks as a separate publicly listed content company.

The unit, which owns cable networks such as AMC and IFC, was augmented by Cablevision's recent acquisition of the Sundance Channel and Newsday newspaper. Liberty Media Corp Chairman John Malone has frequently been cited as a potential buyer of Rainbow, but the recent success of AMC's "Mad Men" series has raised the possibility of interest from other buyers.

Cablevision also owns sporting teams and venues including the New York Knicks basketball team, Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, but it is not expected these assets will be put up for sale.