The cable company and Scripps Networks settled a dispute over fees, returning two popular channels to three million subscribers.
As talks drag on, the Food Network and HGTV have gone dark for many cable customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
It is unclear if Cablevision, the owner of the Rangers and the Knicks, would sell the two sports franchises.
Cablevision will use demographic data to route ads to specific households in parts of the New York City area.
Among the options the company mentioned to improve shareholder value are regular dividends, a stock buyback plan and possible spinoffs of business units.
Cable television subscribers in New York City will have another company to choose from starting on Monday when Verizon begins selling programming.
The decision by state regulators is likely to give cable television consumers in New York City more choices and potentially lower prices.
The owners of The New York Post and The Daily News lost out to Cablevision in the battle for Newsday on Monday, but the tabloid war may be far from over.
The deal with Tribune will give Cablevision a 97 percent stake and return the paper to Long Island ownership.