Cablevision's Bundle Adds Up With Users; Its Package Deal A Hit; Leads in subscriber gains during a soap-opera era for the cable TV industry.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE

Management discord has made some cable TV firms vulnerable to satellite rivals.

Three of the cable TV industry's biggest players -- Cablevision, Adelphia and Charter Communications -- are mired in soap operalike sagas.

While Cablevision appears to be holding its own, the other two are having troubles.

Adelphia's post-bankruptcy sale has dragged on. Management turnover and other woes continue at Charter, which is controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. And a family feud could force Cablevision to put itself up for sale.

Still, Cablevision is one of the few cable firms that's managed to stem subscriber losses to satellite TV rivals. Its strategy of selling pay TV, Internet access and phone services in a discounted bundle has paid off, analysts say. The Bethpage, N.Y.-based company added 18,000 subscribers in 2004.

That's less than 1%, but that's the most adds among all the publicly traded cable TV firms last year.