Cable Shares Climb on Upbeat Forecast

Shares of slumping U.S. cable television providers rallied Thursday after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Richard Bilotti said more digital TV subscriptions will help sales at the companies.

Charter Communications Inc. (ticker symbol: CHTR), the cable company controlled by billionaire Paul Allen, surged 16%, rising $2.19 to $16.06; Classic Communications Inc. (CLSC) jumped 18%, climbing 75 cents to $4.88; and Insight Communications Co.(ICCI), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) and Adelphia Communications Corp. (ADLAC) also gained.

Industrywide revenue will rise 11% to 13% next year, from 8% to 10% expected this year, Bilotti said in a report. New customers for services including digital TV will boost sales as well as cable stocks, which have fallen this year on concern that customer growth may slow, the New York-based analyst said.

Bilotti said some cable stocks, including St. Louis-based Charter, could double this year. Charter could have 799,000 customers for digital TV by year’s end, 30% more than forecast previously, he said.

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Clicking--for a Change Cable stocks got a needed lift Thursday after an industry analyst predicted stronger revenue growth next year.

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Ticker Thu. close YTD % Stock symbol and change change Cablevision Systems CVC $70.25, +$1.88 --7.0% Comcast CMCSA 38.19, +2.31 --20.2 Charter Communications CHTR 16.06, +2.19 --26.6 Insight Communications ICCI 16.00, +2.06 --46.0 Adelphia Communications ADLAC 34.25, +3.25 --47.8 Classic Communications CLSC 4.88, +0.75 --86.7 S&P; 500 index 1,496.07, +16.22 +1.8

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Source: Bloomberg News