Shares in Cablevision rose sharply yesterday after the company agreed to sell its loss-making Voom subsidiary to Echostar Communications for $200m despite it having only 26,000 subscribers.

The agreement to sell Voom, a high-definition television service set up in 2003 by the Dolan family which controls Cablevision, ends weeks of speculation about its fate. The issue created a rift between family members, with founder, Charles Dolan, wanting to keep it.