Deal may let Comcast grow in state Firm expected to try to join its franchises with those of Adelphia
By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff | April 9, 2005
An $18 billion bid for bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. by the nation's two biggest cable companies will likely lead to Comcast Corp. adding at least 26 more local cable franchises to the 212 it now owns in Massachusetts, industry analysts said yesterday.
If they succeed in their bid for the nation's fifth-largest cable company, which serves 5 million subscribers, Comcast and Time Warner Inc. are likely to immediately execute a deal that trades Comcast's 21 percent stake in Time Warner -- a legacy of 1990s cable dealmaking -- back to Time Warner. In exchange, Comcast would get about 2 million current Adelphia or Time Warner customers to add to its current 21 million.
As a way to maximize operating efficiencies and advertising reach, Comcast is likely to focus heavily on expanding existing clusters of cable franchises. Adelphia's local operations -- including Cape Ann, the South Shore, and Martha's Vineyard -- would fit hand-in-glove with Comcast's existing megacluster in Greater Boston and southern New England, making their 124,000 customers almost certain candidates for a swap.