Cablevision Systems Corp posted a higher first-quarter profit on Thursday as it added more high-speed Internet and phone subscribers, boosted by its acquisition of Bresnan Communications last year.

The New York cable operator added 32,000 Internet subscribers and 40,000 phone subscribers during the quarter.

Analysts at Barclays Capital had forecast additions of 20,000 subscribers for Internet and 15,000 for phone.

Cablevision said it had lost 8,000 video customers during the quarter, more than Barclays' forecast of 5,000 losses. The company faces stiff competition from Verizon Communications' FiOS digital video service in its New York area.

Shares of Cablevision fell 1.6 percent to $34.71 in early trading.

Cablevision, which is controlled by the Dolan family, said it benefited in the quarter from the acquisition of smaller cable company Bresnan Communications, which closed on December 14.

Net income rose to $104.1 million, or 36 cents a share, from $74.2 million, or 27 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 9.7 percent to $1.92 billion.

Cablevision generated about $290 million in free cash flow during the quarter.

The company said it remained on track with its previously announced spinoff of Rainbow Communications, its cable network unit that owns AMC, IFC and Sundance, among others.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)

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