Switched digital video (SDV) and edge QAM vendor BigBand Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: BBND) hit its mark for fourth quarter, but that mark included lower revenues and a hefty net loss.

BigBand recorded fourth quarter revenues of $30.7 million, down from $63 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the full year were essentially flat, at $176.5 million. The company tried to lessen that blow by noting that deferred revenues, at $67.3 million, were up from $58.2 million in the previous quarter.

The company also recorded a GAAP net loss of $13.8 million (23 cents per share), versus net income of $8.9 million (15 cents per share) a year earlier. For the full year, BigBand recorded a GAAP net loss of $25.4 million (52 cents per share).

“Our fourth quarter results were in line with our guidance, and we enter the first quarter with a strong base of deferred revenue and improving outlook,” said BigBand chairman and CEO Amir Bassan-Eskenazi, in a statement.

BigBand did hit its forecasts, though -- something it didn’t do in the third quarter. Its stock got hammered in September after the company warned that it could miss revenue guidance by as much as 40 percent. Soon after, it officially “retired” its struggling Cuda cable modem termination system (CMTS) product line. (See BigBand Looks to Resolve BigProblems and BigBand Terminates CMTS.)

On the customer front, BigBand said it scored switched digital video (SDV) deployments with two major MSOs, expanding its big-name SDV customer list to six. BigBand, which recently introduced the fifth generation of its SDV platform, has confirmed that switched deployments are installed or getting underway with Charter Communications Inc. , Cox Communications Inc. , Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), and Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC). It’s believed that Canada-based Vidéotron Telecom Ltd. is also on board.

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has approved BigBand as an SDV vendor but has not announced any deployment commitments. (See BigBand Upgrade Touts HD, VOD .)

Looking ahead, BigBand said it expects net revenues for the first quarter of 2008 to be between $35 million and $39 million, with a GAAP net loss per share in the range of 8 cents to 11 cents.

Company officials were scheduled to discuss fourth quarter and full-year results in more detail Thursday afternoon. BigBand shares were up 8 cents (1.29%) to $6.22 each in early after-hours trading.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News