Cablevision (CVC) announced earnings today. The most notable piece of news was that Verizon’s (VZ) FiOS fiber-to-the-home business is affecting cable subscriptions at about the rate that Cablevision has been projecting for some time, according to MarketWatch. 

That comment set off a bit of a debate. MarketWatch checked with an industry expert and “Tuna Amobi, analyst at Standard and Poor’s, says it seems apparent that FiOS, now available in about 17% of Cablevision’s pool of potential customers, is having an effect. The rate of monthly cancellations, known as churn, went up in the second quarter in basic video, digital video and broadband.”

Another survey of digital TV customers in Massachusetts showed that Comcast (CMCSA) and the satellite TV companies were also losing business to Verizon’s new fiber product.

All of this is good news for the big telecom. It has committed to $23 billion in expenditures to build out its fiber project and Wall St. wants some evidence that there will be a big return.

The polls are just closing, but the early results are good.

Douglas A. McIntyre