UPDATE_1-Verizon gets final go-ahead for FiOS TV in NYC

(Adds Verizon statement, background on FiOS)

NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) won final regulatory approval on Wednesday to sell its FiOS TV service in New York City, and plans to launch in the coming weeks to compete with cable service providers.

Verizon said the New York Public Service Commission gave its approval, the last of a series of regulatory permissions necessary to start selling the television service.

"After decades of being locked into one cable TV provider, consumers here soon will have more choices, better entertainment, and a superior customer service experience," Monica Azare, a Verizon official for New York and Connecticut, said in a statement.

In New York City, FiOS TV would compete with Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

FiOS is delivered over an all fiber network that will also carry high-speed Internet service, and aims to stem losses in Verizon's landline business. Many of its customers in recent years have defected to cable's all-in-one packages of video, phone and Internet services.

Verizon shares rose 0.9 percent to $35.37 in late afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; editing by John Wallace, Gary Hill)