By Shalini Ramachandran And Michael Calia 

Cablevision Systems Corp. Chief Executive James Dolan on Wednesday played down the potential business effect of the Federal Communications Commission chairman's proposal to impose utility-style regulations on broadband service.

Speaking on a fourth-quarter earnings conference call, Mr. Dolan said "the idea of more regulation is never great for us, but to be honest, we don't see at least what the Chairman has been discussing as having any real effect on our business."

Mr. Dolan's comments are notable, since other major cable and telecom chief executives have come out strongly against the proposal, which would regulate broadband service under Title II of the Communications Act. The agency wouldn't enforce certain provisions, such as price regulation.

The cable industry as a whole is relying more on broadband services to power growth as video subscribers continue to decline. Mr. Dolan has said he can envision a future when Cablevision may not offer TV service, but focus solely on broadband. Mr. Dolan often refers to Cablevision as a "connectivity" company.

Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Brian Roberts said Tuesday that he believed Title II regulation is "antiquated and has real downsides." AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. have warned that the FCC's move would result in lower investment in their networks and lead to legal challenges and prolonged uncertainty for telecom companies.

Among other industry players, Cablevision joins only wireless carriers Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. in having a more neutral stance. Those companies have said they don't believe the regulation, as proposed by the chairman, would impede their businesses.

To be sure, no one has seen the actual details of the full "net neutrality" order yet. The FCC will vote on final rules on Thursday, and the full order will only be released in the coming weeks.

Mr. Dolan's comments came as Cablevision posted more subscriber declines, although its revenue increased on higher revenue per customer and growth in advertising. In the quarter, Cablevision lost 34,000 video customers and 11,000 voice customers, though it added 4,000 subscribers to its high-speed Internet service. Cablevision on Wednesday said its total customers--businesses or households that subscribe to at least one service--fell by 2.2% year over year to 3.1 million as of Dec. 31. Video and high-speed data customer numbers both declined for the year.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Cablevision posted earnings of $56 million, or 20 cents a share, up from $51.8 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier. Overall revenue rose 3% to $1.63 billion.

Mr. Dolan continued to emphasize the broadband business over television. "The consumer values the connectivity product more than they do the video product at this point," he said, which is a "pretty big shift."

Cablevision recently became the first major U.S. cable operator to launch a mobile phone service that uses its network of Wi-Fi hot spots. Mr. Dolan said early indications are that "customers are finding the product to do what we said it was going to do and that they are enjoying it." Mr. Dolan says that Cablevision still has no plans to lease airwaves from wireless carriers to cover areas where Wi-Fi isn't available.

Write to Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com and Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com

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