DENVER — Comcast and Charter Communications arrived here at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo this week intent on selling their video platform joint venture, Xumo, to the rest of the U.S. cable industry. 

And they already have a taker in Middletown, New York-based Mediacom Communications, which Marcien Jenckes, president of the Xumo JV said Tuesday at an SCTE show-floor presentation, said will start distributing the new Xumo Stream Box to its customers. 

Also Read: Xumo Stream Box Reviewed: The First OTT Player From Comcast and Charter’s JV Has a Few Bugs and Limitations, but We Can Still See Potential

Jenckes offered little details about Mediacom's deployment — like when it’ll start — but he did say: “This is just the beginning with more to come. We’d like to be working with a lot more operators, and we’ll be doing that in the coming months and years."

UPDATED: The Xumo JV released an official statement two days after Jenckes' disclosure, indicating that the Stream Box will be distributed to Mediacom Xtream internet customers "in the coming months." The release didn't say if Mediacom would charge them for the device, and if so, how much.

"Through our partnership with Xumo, we will be able to significantly enhance the value of our broadband services by combining our market-leading speeds with a new world-class streaming experience," said Tapan Dandnaik, Mediacom's senior VP of operations, product strategy and customer experience. "Xumo Stram Box is incredibly versatile and consumer-friendly, and we are excited to be among the first companies to bring this cutting-edge device to market."

The Mediacom announcement comes two weeks after the JV formally introduced the Xumo Stream Box player, which in addition to playing the cable companies’ core pay TV apps — Charter's Spectrum app and the Xfinity Stream TV app — supports all major SVOD services and around 200 apps in all. 

Last week, Light Reading reported that Xumo was in talks with a number of tier 2 and 3 cable operators about offering the Xumo platform to their customers under ad-revenue sharing terms. The NCTC cooperative, which represents hundreds of smaller cable operators, reportedly expressed interest in the JV's proposition. 

The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) and other smaller cable interests are looking for ways to provide video to their now mostly broadband-oriented constituency, with rising content costs sapping their profitability and interest in linear video in recent years. 

For its part, Charter said the OTT platform — which is powered by Comcast voice-remote technology — had already replaced its linear set-tops as its “go-to” video platform.

“It’s the primary video box that we are deploying today,” Charter CEO Christopher Winfrey said during Tuesday’s Expo opening session. “It’s been hard for us lately to be excited about our video product. This is about as excited as we've been in 15 years." 

As predicted, U.S. tier-2 and tier-3 cable operators appear to be following Comcast and Charter Communications into the MVNO-based wireless business.

The wireless industry analyst who has dubbed this smaller MSO grouping as “junior cable,” Wave7 Research’s Jeff Moore, just noticed that the term “Mediacom Mobile” has been trademarked by Mediacom Communications, the nation’s fifth-largest cable operator.

“Junior cable will be a big story for 2023,” Moore tweeted Friday. “Smaller cable companies are launching wireless MVNOs [mobile virtual network operators] in an effort to lock down their customers. ‘Mediacom Mobile‘ has been trademarked. Mediacom Mobile launch details are not yet clear. Cox Mobile launch details are completely clear.”

Also: As Comcast, Charter and Altice Add Nearly 700K Wireless Customers in Q2, 'Junior Cable' Gets Ready to Join the Mobile Fray

Indeed, privately held Cox Communications, the nation’s third-largest MSO, officially launched Cox Mobile at CES two weeks ago, using the same mobile virtual network operator partner (Verizon) and go-to-market strategies already successfully deployed by Comcast and Charter.

No. 4 operator Altice USA launched Optimum Mobile in 2019.

Now, here come the smaller operators, who are also looking to duplicate the strategy of offering customers low-priced mobile plans that piggyback on established wireless networks, mixing in plenty of support from their own Wi-Fi networks. WideOpenWest, for example, is reportedly working with the National Cable Technology Cooperative to hash out an MVNO deal.

For its part, Mediacom hasn't released any details as to how advanced — or even tangible — its wireless progression is.

Speaking to FierceWireless, Moore said a lot of stuff has to be worked out beyond finding an MVNO partner — including backend operations — before a cable mobile operation can be launched.

However, with T-Mobile and Verizon signing up nearly 3.2 million customers  to inexpensive fixed wireless access home internet in the last 18 months, a countermove into the wireless turf allows MSOs to better lock up their existing customers.

“When I look at the big picture, the cable companies are losing a great number of subscribers to T-Mobile and Verizon as those companies ramp up their wireless home internet capabilities," Moore told Fierce. "So to me, gaining a mobile capability is all about locking down the churn, locking down the number of subscribers that are currently with the cable companies." ■

Mediacom Communications said Tuesday that it has promoted Jon Coscia to SVP of Customer Service and Jack Griffin to SVP of Finance and Treasurer.

Coscia, who was formerly group VP of Customer Service,  will take full responsibility for customer care, including centers for sales, retention and field support and will report to EVP of Operations John Pascarelli.

“Since joining Mediacom, Jon has established himself as an industry expert in his field and introduced numerous groundbreaking, technology-driven solutions aimed at elevating the customer experience,” Pascarelli said in a press release. “I am confident his strategic insight and proven leadership of over 850 employees will further advance the quality of our customer care.” 

Griffin, previously group VP, Corporate Finance, will continue to oversee Mediacom’s corporate finance and treasury group, including debt financing, liability and cash management, banking relationships, investments, external reporting, mergers and acquisitions and business development. He will continue to report to Mediacom EVP and chief financial officer Mark Stephan.

“Jack has played an integral role in shaping the company’s financial profile over the past several years and achieving our much-coveted investment grade rating,” Stephan said in a press release. “His skillful stewardship of Mediacom’s balance sheet and the corporate finance and treasury group will benefit Mediacom for the many years to come.”

Both men joined Mediacom in 2007. 

“I am pleased to offer my heartfelt congratulations to both Jon and Jack. They have long been recognized as emerging leaders within our organization, and their promotions are well deserved,” Mediacom chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said in a press release. 

Mediacom Communications said Wednesday it has renewed its carriage deal with Paramount Global, including several cable and broadcast networks as well as access to Showtime OTT. Terms were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, Mediacom will continue to make cable channels like BET, CBS Sports Network, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop TV, Smithsonian Channel, and others available to its customers. In addition, the operator also renewed retransmission-consent rights to CBS owned-and-operated broadcast TV stations in its service territory.

Mediacom is the fifth-largest U.S. cable operator with about 1.5 million cable, telephone and broadband subscribers in 22 states. ▪️

Mediacom Communications chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso received an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Iowa’s Drake University earlier this week, in part for his company’s commitment to the state. 

“While other broadband providers exited Iowa, Mediacom — under Mr. Commisso’s leadership — invested in infrastructure critical to the economic vitality of our state,” Drake University president Marty Martin said in a press release. “Mediacom has demonstrated its shared commitment to Drake University’s inspiration statement: To strengthen the communities we serve.”

Iowa is one of Mediacom’s largest markets and in 2017 the company made 1-gigabit internet service available to more than 300 communities in the state as part of a three-year, $1 billion capital investment plan. In 2020, Mediacom chose Iowa as the location for the first ever field trial showcasing the multi-gigabit speeds of the cable industry’s new 10G platform.

“Home to nearly 1,600 of our dedicated employees and a third of our loyal customer base, Iowa has long been the crown jewel of Mediacom’s 22 state network operations,” Commisso said in a press release. “It is a tremendous privilege to receive an honorary degree from Drake, a distinguished university that sits in the heart of Iowa’s capital and whose administration, faculty and graduates have made immeasurable contributions to the state’s economic, educational and cultural advancement.” ▪️

Mediacom Communications founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso and his wife Catherine have made one of the largest gifts to date to Columbia University’s Fu School of Engineering and Applied Science, creating a scholarship program that will support up to 20 undergraduate students at the school each year in perpetuity. 

The Rocco and Catherine Commisso Scholarship will help boost the university-wide campaign initiated by Columbia President Lee Bollinger to raise $1.4 billion in financial assistance by June 2025.

“This Commisso Scholars program comes at a time when support for students is more critical than ever,” Bollinger said in a press release. “We greatly appreciate Rocco and Catherine’s gift and the deep care for students that drives their generosity.”

Rocco Commisso has been a long-time supporter of the school and its soccer program. A 1971 graduate of the University’s industrial engineering program, Rocco Commisso was a member of Columbia’s 1967 freshman soccer squad that went undefeated and was captain of the 1970 varsity team that competed in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament. He received his MBA from Columbia in 1975. In 2006, Commisso’s son Joseph received his undergraduate engineering degree from Columbia, following in his father’s footsteps.

Also: Commisso Buys Italian Soccer Club

Rocco Commisso has long put an emphasis on education, immigrating to the U.S. from Calabria, Italy with his family when he was 12 years old, settling in the Bronx, New York. He attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, moving on to Columbia on a full scholarship. 

Also: Mediacom: 20 Years of Growth 

“The time I spent at Columbia was a truly life-changing experience for me,” Rocco Commisso said in a press release. “On the field, I was able to help bring a winning culture to the Lions’ soccer program. In the classroom, I was given the opportunity to earn a first-class engineering education that opened the doors to my future business career. However, without the financial support I received from Columbia, my ability to pursue an Ivy League education at one of the world’s finest universities would not have been possible. With this gift, Catherine and I hope to help students facing similar economic challenges realize their dream of graduating from Columbia. Ultimately, we want to ensure that the very best students, no matter their family’s circumstances, are able to attain a Columbia Engineering degree.” 

After earning his MBA from Columbia Business School in 1975, Commisso spent a decade on Wall Street with Chase Manhattan Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada. He worked at Cablevision Industries from 1986 to 1995 where he served as executive vice president, chief financial officer, and director and went on to found Mediacom in 1995 to acquire and reinvigorate cable systems in America’s underserved smaller communities. Today, Mediacom is the nation’s fifth largest cable provider and was recently recognized by Deloitte Private and the Wall Street Journal as a U.S. Best Managed Company for the second year in a row. The company also seeks to help close the digital divide by offering affordable broadband plans to low-income families. 

Also: Italian Soccer’s Secret Weapon  

To be eligible for the Commisso Scholarship, a student need meet one of the following requirements: to have lived or studied in Italy for at least a year; to be proficient in Italian or have grown up speaking Italian in the home; to have demonstrated leadership or involvement in the Italian community or in Italian cultural activities; to be a member of Columbia University’s men’s or women’s soccer team; or to be from the Bronx, with a preference for alumni of Mount Saint Michael Academy. 

“We truly appreciate the enormous generosity that Rocco has shown to our engineering students, and for his support over the years,” said Shih-Fu Chang, Dean of Columbia Engineering in a press release. “Making a Columbia education possible for deserving students, regardless of need, is a central value of our University and we are grateful for alumni like Rocco who continue to inspire all of us and give back in ways that will be truly transformational for our students.” 

Also: Mediacom Milestone: 100 Consecutive Quarters of Revenue Growth  

Commisso has generously given to the school and its soccer program over the years. More recently, he was Class Day speaker for Columbia Engineering graduates in 2021 and gave the annual Magill Lecture in 2020. He was also inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 and is the namesake of the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.  

At a ceremony on June 9, the Columbia Engineering Alumni Association will be awarding him the Samuel Johnson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in a Field Beyond Engineering and Applied Science in recognition of his entrepreneurial achievements and exceptional leadership. Past Johnson Medal recipients include former head of Xerox Ursula Burns ('82SEAS) and Nobel Prize Winner Alvin Roth (’71SEAS).

“Working with Rocco has been a true privilege,” said Columbia University provost Mary C. Boyce in a press release. “His approach to leadership, philanthropy, and business epitomizes an engineering mindset, as well as a kind and generous spirit. His support will directly impact students while also enhancing the diversity that is a strength of our university.”  ■ 

S&P Global said Thursday that it has raised its credit rating on Mediacom Communications one notch to BBB+/Stable after the cable company lowered its leverage ratio to 1.4 times EBITDA, and committed to keeping the metric below 2 times for the foreseeable future.

Mediacom previously had a BBB/Stable rating -- which is also considered to be investment grade --  on its debt, and the increase will make it easier for the company to access capital markets at favorable interest rates. S&P Global said Mediacom’s leverage commitment is well below the ratings agency’s BBB rating threshold of 2.5 times EBITDA.

S&P said the "stable" outlook reflects Mediacom’s predictable earnings growth and cash flow generation, which enables the company to lower its leverage by about 0.5 times per year.

S&P said Mediacom has consistently reduced its debt since going private in 2011. While it could beef up its debt in the future, especially if it considers a strategic acquisition, the ratings agency said that the commitment to keeping leverage at 2 times or lower gives it “greater clarity into the limitations on the magnitude of any potential re-leveraging.”

In raising Mediacom’s credit rating, S&P said it believes Mediacom has an affordable network upgrade path to ensure its place as the fastest provider of broadband service in its territories, and that its capital expenditures-to-revenue ratio should remain flat at about 15%. 

“Therefore, we expect cash flow conversion rates to continue to improve with higher EBITDA margins supported by solid, albeit moderating, HSD growth,” S&P said, adding that it expects annual broadband EBITDA growth of between 4% and 6% and average revenue per unit (ARPU) growth of 5% to 8% over the next two years. ■ 

Cable broadband operators are concerned that localities could start putting a thumb on the scale for Google Fiber when it comes to broadband service — making it a less-free market in which to compete for eyeballs and subscription dollars — and they want the Federal Communications Commission to nip that notion in the bud.

The current battleground over the extent to which municipalities can build out broadband is West Des Moines, Iowa. Incumbent provider Mediacom Communications wants the FCC to require the city to stop construction on Google Fiber‘s network, stop marketing service to residents and reconfigure the network and contract. 

Also Read: NCTA Says Google Fiber Definition of Competition Is Too Narrow

Opponents of the petition — comments were due Oct. 7 — said the FCC does not even have the authority to grant it.

Mediacom earlier this year asked the FCC to declare that the preferential treatment it says the city was extending to Google Fiber violated the Communications Act requirement that providers get nondiscriminatory access.

ACA Connects — the trade group representing Mediacom and other smaller, independent cable providers — filed comments in the proceeding saying preferential rates, terms and conditions obtained by Google Fiber clearly did not fit the competitively neutral directive of the Communications Act’s Section 253.

ACAC suggests the potential problem goes further than West Des Moines, and the commission needs to recognize that.

“[T]he FCC should recognize that the City’s alleged actions are of general concern to all providers regardless of location,” ACAC said in its comments. “Incumbent providers of telecommunications service and new entrants alike, including ACA Connects members, are concerned that actions by state or local governments in providing access to [public rights of way], including those like the City’s, may skew the market, such that they cannot compete in a fair and reasonable legal and regulatory environment as envisioned by Section 253.“

Muni Advocates Weigh In

Not surprisingly, Next Century Cities, which comprises advocates of municipal broadband service, filed in opposition to the Mediacom petition.

Next Century told the commission that Mediacom was trying “to prohibit a local government’s public-private partnership agreement that is designed to increase competition and expand broadband service options for residents.” It said the declaratory ruling would set the “negative precedent” that could discourage cities from forming public-private partnerships to close the digital divide.

Next Century was certainly suggesting ACAC‘s fear that not declaring such muni deals with Google Fiber violated the Act could encourage others was well-founded.

Also Read: More Muni, More Money

“Local officials nationwide are exploring opportunities to bring high-quality, affordable broadband within reach for residents and businesses,“ Next Century said. “These initiatives are often necessary, innovative, and community-driven, yet face numerous obstacles,“ including what it called "federal interference," and what ACAC would call the obstacle that favoring Google Fiber violates FCC rules.

But Next Century said that even if the FCC wanted to invalidate the Google Fiber deal, it gave up that authority when it reclassified broadband as an information service under Title I of the Communications Act. “Mediacom‘s complaint only pertains to the deployment and delivery of broadband Internet access service and does not affect the delivery of telecommunications services,” Next Century argued. “Therefore, the commission lacks authority to rule on this matter.”

Google Claims Mischaracterization

In its comments, Google said Mediacom‘s petition mischaracterizes its agreement with the city, which it says is not a grant of monopoly control of conduits; is not a subsidy to the company; grants it no special permitting or access rights; and is not on more favorable financial terms than other all-fiber ISPs.

Besides, the FCC has never been in the business of rewriting private contracts and should not start now, it said.

Among those filing in support of Google and West Des Moines were INCOMPAS, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers (NATOA), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and National League of Cities, among others.

INCOMPAS, whose members include Google, urged the FCC to deny the petition, saying West Des Moines was just trying to create an open conduit network that will provide fast, competitive fiber to residents throughout the city.

Municipal networks have a friend in the White House. President Joe Biden has signaled that he would favor targeting broadband subsidy money to municipal nets and public-private partnerships, which he has signaled equates to better and cheaper broadband service and cable broadband providers argue often leads to failed efforts and taxpayers holding the bag.

Influential media analyst Craig Moffett took a deep dive into Altice USA Wednesday, issuing a 39-page report that says with broadband growth behind its peers and doubts that its rural markets can take up the slack, one way to unlock its value would be to take the company private. 

Altice USA stock has been battered over the past few months, dropping more than 20% since July 28 when it released Q2 results that showed zero broadband subscriber growth at a time when its larger peers are watching their high-speed data rolls rise. In his report, Moffett, principal and senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, noted that despite that sluggish performance, Altice USA’s sum-of-the-parts valuation indicates that Wall Street perhaps has the cable company all wrong. 

While Moffett admitted that Altice USA has a “broadband pricing problem,” that there is some doubt that efforts to boost broadband customers in its more rural Suddenlink footprint will offset subscriber declines in its more metropolitan Optimum footprint, even conservative valuations of its four major geographies indicate a much higher value for the company than Wall Street has assigned. 

“There’s a price for everything … and, to put it bluntly, this ain’t it,” Moffett wrote. “Altice’s current valuation is simply too cheap, and by a huge margin.”

The notion of going private at latest appeared to be attractive to some investors. Altice USA shares were up nearly 4% ($1.05 each) in early trading Sept. 8 to $28.19 per share. The stock was priced at $27.94 at 12:57 p.m. Wednesday, up 3% or 81 cents each.

Given the high valuations for recent private cable deals, including Altice’s own  purchase of Service Electric Cable of NJ  (10 times consensus cash flow) and its March  agreement to buy North Carolina broadband provider Morris Broadband (24 times), Moffett assigned an 11.7 times multiple to Suddenlink, a 10.1x  multiple to legacy Optimum systems and a 14.6 times multiple to its Lightpath division, pushing the combined company’s estimated trading multiple to 10.8 times forward looking cash flow. At that multiple, Moffett estimated that Altice USA stock should be priced at $51 per share, nearly double its Sept. 7 close of $27.25 each. 

Moffett added that to take Altice USA private, the company would have to pay a premium to its current stock price, but at $30, $35, $40 or even $45 per share, that option would appear to be a bargain.

Going private is nothing new for cable operators, and usually is driven by the perception that the public market is severely undervaluing assets. Mediacom Communications was the last major publicly traded cable operator to go private in 2011, and has had tremendous success as a private company. In 2004, Cox Communications went private in a deal valued at $8.5 billion, and hasn’t looked back since. 

The analyst added that in one scenario, Altice USA could sell off its Suddenlink division at an 11.7 times multiple (implying a selling price of $22.7 billion) and Lightpath for 14.6 times cash flow (implying a $1.57 billion sale price), while retaining the Optimum business by purchasing the remaining public float. Moffett estimated that at a $35 per share take out price and the sale of Suddenlink and Lightpath, Altice USA could take itself private — debt free — for about $7.9 billion. At $45 per share, the total cost would rise to $10.3 billion.

Moffett stressed that going private is not something he is suggesting that Altice USA will do, but is something they could do. And there are also several possible iterations of the going private option, he wrote.

“The takeaway here is that, even with a meaningful premium, the current valuation is so  cheap that it creates enormous optionality,” Moffett wrote, adding that Altice USA has been doing its own “modified take-private” for years.

Moffett noted that since separating from Altice N.V. in 2018, Altice USA has made about $7.7 billion in share repurchases, reducing its total shares outstanding by about 38%. Excluding the ownership stake held by Altice N.V. chairman Patrick Drahi, and Altice USA has reduced  its public float by more than half.   

“Indeed, it may be the case that Drahi would conclude that it is more attractive to simply stay the course and retire shares until the remaining float is so small that almost any premium paid to complete the job would be financially immaterial,” Moffett wrote. He estimated that Altice USA, if it maintains its leverage target of 4.5 times to 5 times cash flow, would buy back about $8.5 billion of its stock through 2025.

“Altice could go private, sell select assets — we highlighted Suddenlink just because we suspect it would be so easy to sell — and own what's left for... well, for nothing at all,” Moffett continued. 

Mediacom Communications said Monday that it has promoted long-time executive Glenn Goldsmith to group VP of programming.

Goldsmith, who joined Mediacom in 1998 as an intern in the finance department was most recently VP of programming. In his new role he will be principally involved in the negotiation of programming and retransmission consent agreements for new and traditional media rights and strategic multiplatform initiatives, including video-on-demand.

Mediacom also said it has promoted Jenna Guarino to VP of compliance and legal affairs and Randy Brown to VP of field operations. 

Also Read: Disney, Mediacom Reach Carriage Agreement

In her new position Guarino will negotiate, draft, review, and edit legal documents and agreements, and ensure Mediacom’s compliance with federal and state laws. She joined Mediacom in 2010 as an intern in the legal department.

As VP of field operations, Brown, a cable industry veteran with 40-plus years of experience, will play a key role in the operations of Mediacom Bolt, the fixed wireless broadband offering Mediacom is deploying in unserved and underserved rural areas.

Mediacom Communications has reached a multi-year comprehensive carriage agreement with Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, that will include the mid-sized operator taking on Disney’s ACC Network.

Mediacom said it would add ACC Network to its lineup, offering access to Atlantic Coast Conference games and programming beginning in September. The companies added that the multi-year deal also reaffirms their "mutual commitment to enhance the customer experience by delivering video content to viewers across multiple platforms."

In addition to the ACC Network, Mediacom will continue to carry Disney’s ESPN networks, its Disney branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. The deal also covers retransmission consent for Disney’s owned and operated ABC television stations. 

“We couldn’t be more pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with Mediacom and continue to supply Disney’s best-in-class programming from our suite of networks,” Sean Breen, EVP, Platform Distribution, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, said in a press release. “With Mediacom’s strong presence in key markets, the addition of the ACC Network and its extensive offerings of live sporting events will add tremendous value for their customers.”

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the country with about 611,000 video and 1.5 million broadband customers across 22 states, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast.  

“Since Mediacom’s inception over 25 years ago, it has been our mission to serve our customers with state-of-the-art technology and expansive content,” Mediacom EVP of Programming and Human Resources Italia Commisso Weinand said in a press release. “We are proud and honored to continue our relationship with the Disney organization that shares this same commitment to quality and innovation.”  

Mediacom Communications managed to continue to squeeze profits out of its broadband business even as subscriber additions began to slow down in the second quarter, finishing the period with a double-digit increase in cash flow as revenue rose nearly 6%.

Mediacom reported $557 million in revenue in Q2, up 5.9% from the previous year, while adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA), a measure of cash flow, rose 15.2% to $251.2 million. It was the fourth straight quarter of double-digit cash flow growth at the company. Adjusted OIBDA increased by 15.2% in Q1 2021, 16.3% in Q4 2020, and 15.4% in Q3 2020, according to Mediacom. 

Most analysts expect broadband subscriber growth to slow down across the industry as the impact of the pandemic wanes, and such was the case at Mediacom, where broadband additions shrunk to 14,000 in Q2, down from the 47,000 it added in Q2 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Video customer losses of 15,000 were lower than the 17,000 the company lost in Q2 2020.  

Also Read: Comcast Soundly Beats Expectations in Q2

In a press release, Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said the growth was largely due to the company’s decision to "transition to a broadband-centric strategy.

“Our streak of year-over-year revenue growth has now reached a remarkable 98 consecutive quarters, a testament to the perseverance of our dedicated employees in the face of numerous challenges encountered over the last 25 years,” Commisso continued. “Despite becoming a meaningful income taxpayer this year, we still managed to reduce our net debt by $232 million during the first half of 2021. Our lenders continue to benefit from our investment grade financial position, with Mediacom’s net leverage declining below 1.5x, the lowest in our history.”

Cox Communications CEO Patrick Esser’s decision to retire at the end of the year — he will be succeeded by company veteran Mark Greatrex — was met throughout the industry with equal parts regret at losing yet another of cable’s old guard and good wishes that one of the good guys gets to end his decades-long cable story on his own terms. 

Esser got his start in the cable business in 1979 as a pole climber for a small cable operator in Waterloo, Iowa. According to an interview he did with this reporter back in 2013 after receiving the industry’s highest honor — the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership — Esser packed up his belongings and drove 1,000 miles to Hampton Roads, Virginia, the site of Cox's latest system buy. The catalyst? One of his sales managers in the Waterloo system was a former Cox employee who couldn’t stop talking about what a great company it was to work for. The then 20-something Esser decided to see for himself.  

“I knocked on the door of the cable system and I got a job as the public-access director,” Esser said at the time. “Everything I heard about Cox was true from the moment I stepped on the property.”

Esser’s first job at Cox was officially director of programming at the Hampton Roads system, and he was part of the management team that pioneered Cox’s advertising sales division now known as Cox Media. In 1991 he was named corporate vice president of advertising sales, rising to vice president of operations for Cox’s Western Division in 1999. A  year later he was promoted to senior vice president of operations and in 2004, Esser was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

In 2006, Esser was tapped to succeed CEO James Robbins, who had said earlier that he would retire that year. Robbins, who died in 2007,  said in a July 2005 interview he couldn’t have hoped for a better person to take the reins.

“Pat has absolutely been the home-run selection,” Robbins said in that July 2005 interview. 

Esser didn’t just have an impact on his own company. While he spearheaded and pushed along efforts to diversify Cox’s workforce and bring the company into the information age, he also enthusiastically waved the cable banner wherever he went. Throughout the years he served as chairman of  NCTA: The Internet & Television Association;  C-SPAN; CableLabs; adviser to the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and on the national Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 

“Pat Esser’s contribution to our industry has been invaluable,” said NCTA: The Internet and Television Association CEO Michael Powell in a statement. “He’s a true cable success story, rising through the ranks from local executive to company CEO. Throughout, he has represented the heart and soul of our industry, always committed first to the welfare of Cox customers and employees.”

Through his journey throughout the industry, Esser has worked closely with other cable and telecom CEOs. He serves on C-SPAN’s board with Charter Communications chairman and CEO Tom Rutledge and has served with Mediacom Communications founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso on the C-SPAN and NCTA boards. 

“Pat’s had a great career starting at entry level and rising to the top,” Rutledge said in a statement. “I’ve enjoyed working aside him on Industry efforts at NCTA and CableLabs.  Pat’s contribution to the industry is unmatched.  I have been personally lucky to work with Pat in an industry where long term business success has kept us on the same team for decades.  It’s been a pleasure.”

National Cable Television Cooperative CEO Lou Borrelli has known Esser for years, dating back to their early days in cable. Borrelli has logged 43 years in the cable business, beginning with UA-Columbia Cablevision in 1978. Borrelli also was a founding partner of Marcus Cable in 1986. 

"I had the good fortune to meet Pat back when our cable careers were getting off the ground," Borrelli said in a statement. "His energy was infectious and his word was his bond. Through numerous CTAM collaborations, Pat never ran out of ideas and always was up to the challenge. His track record at Cox is a testament to his work ethic and his ethics in business and life. Good luck and godspeed."

Esser also helped drive Cox forward as the industry changed, building on its decades-long reputation as the “gold standard” for the cable industry and unafraid to invest in new businesses like broadband.

“During Pat’s 15 years at the helm, Cox Communications became the gold standard of U.S. telecom companies,” Commisso said in a statement. “Through his many operational successes at Cox and his leadership within NCTA, Pat motivated us all to make the significant private investments necessary to turn our collective broadband networks into America’s most powerful technology platform.   I thank him for his tremendous contributions to our industry and wish Pat and his family all the best in the years ahead.” 

Powell also pointed to Esser’s history as a champion of the NCTA, leading its board of directors and trade show several times, and his commitment to diversity, both at Cox and throughout the industry. 

“Pat has been a leader and innovator in cable marketing; a visionary in cable operations and technology; an ally and champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion; and a thoughtful, forward-looking President & CEO of his company,” Powell continued. “As one of our industry’s most trusted and authentic voices, Pat has immense credibility with policy makers. He has helped provide a strong presence for our industry here in Washington and always has committed Cox Communications to the public good. I will miss Pat enormously as a friend, mentor, and advisor on all of our critical issues. We wish only the very best for him in his next chapter. We’re looking forward to working with Mark Greatrex, another formidable presence in our industry who will be a positive force as we move into the future.”

Esser has served as chairman of C-SPAN for about two years but has been a member of the organization since 2005. The Cox chief has also been a regular video contributor, participating in trade show forums broadcast on the channel ranging from the future of the cable business to Open Internet and consolidation. 

“You can't ask for a better chairman than Pat Esser,” C-SPAN said in a statement. “He is passionate about C-SPAN's mission and shares that enthusiasm throughout Cox. Over the past two years, he has been readily available with strategic guidance and encouragement as our network navigates a changing marketplace and we are confident we can continue to call on his wise counsel into the future.”

In 2006, Cox was first named in DiversityInc's listing of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity and in 2020, reached its highest ranking at No.11. Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) regularly recognizes Cox among the top operators for women.

"Pat Esser is an industry legend — 15 years of exemplary leadership at the helm of Cox and countless beneficiaries of his dedication to the industry and its DEI efforts,” Maria E. Brennan, WICT President & CEO, said in a statement. “We likewise congratulate Pat’s accomplished successor at Cox, Mark Greatrex, and look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Cox leadership team."

Broadband customers rose by about 16,000 in the first quarter at Mediacom Communications, slightly behind last year’s torrid pace, but enough to drive double-digit cash flow growth at the mid-sized cable operator in the period.

Those broadband additions led to a 15.8% increase in overall high-speed data revenue to $258.7 million, which drove adjusted OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization, a measure of cash flow) up 15.2% for the company. Overall revenue was $547.5 million, up 5.8% from the prior year.

Also Read: Mediacom Named Among Best Managed Private U.S. Companies 

Video subscribers declined by 17,000 in the period, the same number the company lost in the prior year. Phone subscribers fell by 12,000 in Q1, compared to a loss of about 5,000 in the same period in 2020.  

“The first quarter of 2021 marked another exceptional operating period for Mediacom, as we registered our third straight quarter of industry-leading Adjusted OIBDA growth with a 15.2% increase from the prior year period and extended our streak of year-over-year revenue growth to 97 consecutive quarters,” chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said in a press release. “Notably, despite Mediacom becoming a meaningful taxpayer in 2021, we generated $129.5 million of after-tax free cash flow, and our net debt leverage declined to an all-time low of 1.67x.”

Mediacom Communications was one of 49 businesses selected by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal as one of 2021’s US Best Managed Companies. 

The program recognizes outstanding U.S. privately held companies with at least $250 million in annual revenue and the achievements of their management teams.  Awardees are selected based on their performance in four key categories: strategy, execution, culture and financials. Program designees join the global network of Best Managed Companies, which consists of more than 1,000 organizations in 30 countries. 

“After a challenging year for many businesses, it feels more important than ever to recognize the outstanding achievements of our 2021 US Best Managed Companies honorees,” Deloitte LLP vice chairman and U.S. Deloitte Private leader Jason Downing said in a press release. “These businesses are led by visionary and innovative management teams throughout the country and across industries. Their resilience and sustained commitment to their purpose, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, is inspiring. We welcome them into the program and look forward to their continued success.”

According to Deloitte, a panel of judges reviewed applications in March and selected this year’s honorees based on strengths across the four core criteria, and whose management teams excel amid change. Benefits of the program include access to a global community of peer business leaders and marketplace recognition.

“For over a quarter of a century, the dedicated men and women of Mediacom have worked tirelessly to ensure the smaller markets we serve receive the same or better telecommunications services as America’s largest cities,” said Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso in a press release. “During this past year, the team at Mediacom has gone above and beyond for our communities by rapidly connecting thousands of homes with low-cost internet services, supporting local food banks and preparing our advanced broadband network to meet the demands of more people than ever before working and studying from home. To be recognized as a 2021 US Best Managed Company in the midst of the economic and operating challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic is a testament to our employees’ steadfast commitment to the core tenets of our business, and I thank them for making this honor possible.”

It’s pretty rare when a team owner gets called out -- positively -- when a TV sports rights deal is announced by a league and a programmer, but that’s what happened in ViacomCBS’s three-year deal for exclusive U.S. rights to stream games from Italian soccer league Serie A. But then again, Rocco Commisso isn’t just any team owner.

ViacomCBS made good on its promise to double down on soccer rights on March 25, agreeing to a three-year deal to carry the league on its fledgling streaming service Paramount Plus as well as CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network. While the terms of the deal weren’t announced, reports have put the value at about $200 million over the three years.

In announcing the deal there were the usual niceties -- both sides praised each other’s foresight in agreeing to the transaction -- but further down in the release, Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo personally thanked the league’s American club owners, specifically pointing out Mediacom Communications chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso, who also owns the ACF Fiorentina team, for his help in landing the agreement. 

“Today it is not a point of arrival, but rather the beginning of a process of investments in human resources and editorial contents to support the continued growth of Serie A in the North America territory,” De Siervo said in the release. “This is the result of the work of the last 18 months and of the increasing number of American owners who have decided to invest in our teams. Finally, I would like to thank the President of Fiorentina Rocco Commisso for his important contribution to achieve this agreement.”

Rights Cost Went Up 30%

The deal that Paramount Plus signed was a 30% increase over the league’s last TV contract with ESPN Plus. ESPN was a late round bidder along with one other unnamed company,  but ultimately decided that the price was little too rich for its tastes.

ViacomCBS has been ultra-aggressive in snapping up soccer rights. In addition to the Serie A deal, the programmer has signed rights deals with the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, next season’s Europa Conference League, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Brasileiro Série A and Liga Profesional de Fútbol (the top leagues in both Brazil and Argentina), and various Concacaf matches. 

At ViacomCBS’s Feb. 24 Investor Day, CBS Entertainment chief George Cheeks said the programmer was “doubling down” on soccer rights, adding the sport presented the best opportunity to grab young eyeballs for both the linear and streaming networks.

“As we look to the future, we are making soccer a core pillar of sports exclusively available on Paramount Plus,” Cheeks said at the Investor Day. 

According to reports, Paramount had initially bid around $142 million for the rights, but bumped up that offer considerably in later rounds. 

While those reports didn’t offer an explanation for the increased offer, probably just chalking it up to normal bidding dynamics, Commisso may have provided a subtle nudge.

As the head of the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S., Mediacom obviously has a long-time professional relationship with Paramount Plus parent ViacomCBS and its CEO Bob Bakish. But Commisso and Bakish’s connection goes a little bit deeper. Both are graduates of Columbia University, and both left that Ivy League institution with degrees in industrial engineering and MBAs.   

“Rocco and I have enjoyed a long and productive professional relationship,” Bakish said in an email message.  “We look forward to working with Serie A and enhancing our strong lineup of live soccer coverage on Paramount+.” 

Commisso, who was born in Calabria, Italy and came to the U.S. with his family when he was 12 years old, is a huge soccer fan: he was co-captain of his alma mater’s men’s soccer squad in 1970, helping lead the school to compete in its first NCAA men’s soccer tournament that year. The Mediacom founder has been a huge booster of Columbia University soccer, donating millions of dollars to the school for its stadium and soccer programs. In 2017, Commisso dipped his toe into club ownership, buying the North American Soccer League’s (NASL) New York Cosmos. In 2019 he purchased ACF Fiorentina. ACF Fiorentina currently is ranked 14th out of 20 teams in Serie A. The Cosmos have been on pause since the COVID-19 outbreak. 

In an interview, Commisso said he imparted some of his soccer knowledge to Bakish, who he said is “a great guy” and a savvy negotiator in his own right. Talks for the U.S. rights to Serie A lasted about 18 months and  involved several parties. 

“We had a discussion,” Commisso said, adding that the conversation was mainly around the state of Italian soccer. “I was rooting for him to win it. Did he come up with every single dollar that I thought was the right ask? No. Was he better than everybody else? Yes. It would be fair to say that through my involvement, one: he got the bid and two: he increased the bid.”

Commisso has been pretty generous with his knowledge of the soccer game. He counseled Parma owner Kyle Krause, CEO of Krause Group, when he was considering buying the Parma team. Krause Group is based in Des Moines, Iowa, also one of Mediacom’s largest markets, and owns Italian wineries and hospitality businesses, as well as real estate and more than 400 gas station/convenience stores in the Midwest. Krause bought the Parma team in 2020. 

“He picked my brain and I helped him make his mind up,” Commisso said. 

Serie A is considered one of the “Big Five'' leagues in European football: The English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 are the others. So landing the U.S. rights is a bit of a coup for Paramount. It doesn’t hurt that one of the most recognizable stars in soccerdom, Cristiano Ronaldo, plays for Turin-based Juventus, the 2019-20 Serie A champion.  

Matches Due Mostly On Paramount Plus

ViacomCBS hasn’t said yet how it will parse the games between the streaming and linear services. But it’s probably a good bet that the Ronaldo connection will be played up when it starts airing Serie A games in August. There are a lot of games to watch, which should only raise the profile of the league in general. Paramount Plus, the enlarged former CBS All Access, has the rights to air 400 matches each year -- 388 Serie A games, 25 Coppa Italia matches and the Supercoppa Italiana match (where the winners of Serie A and Coppa Italia meet in a what is akin to the Italian soccer Super Bowl) -- with select matches to be televised on CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network. 

But whatever the ultimate lineup, Commisso said the exposure could only be good for Italian soccer. 

“In Italy, they give some of the bigger teams preferential treatment when there are multiple games during the day,” Commisso said. “Not always but for the most part, they’ll make the last game the Game of the Week. We have games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’m sure they [Paramount] will utilize Ronaldo. If I were them I would do the same thing.”

Commisso said in Italian soccer, TV money isn’t split evenly among teams -- bigger teams get bigger shares -- but the additional cash will help the smaller clubs get better players and improve facilities. Adding to the coffers is the sale of Italian TV rights to the league, which went to streaming sports service DAZN for about €2.5 billion ($2.95 billion) over three years. DAZN bested Comcast-owned Sky, which had owned Serie A rights in Italy since 2003. Sky, according to reports, agreed to pay about €70 million ($82 million) for non-exclusive rights for a smaller package of games. 

Commisso also is encouraged by the growing number of American owners in Italian soccer. Today there are five clubs owned by Americans in the 20-team league: A.C. Milan, A.S. Roma, A.C.F. Fiorentina, Parma and Spezia Calcio. A sixth club, Bologna F.C., is owned by a Canadian.

That influx of American ownership has occurred only recently. In 2017, only one club, Roma, was U.S.-owned. Commisso said the new blood has been good for the league, bringing in a fresh perspective as well as money. Italian soccer, he added, has been held back by the condition of its stadiums, which are generally owned by the towns and cities the clubs play in and are leased back to the teams. But that means improvements have been few and far between. Commisso said the stadium where his club plays, Stadio Artemio Franchi, was first opened in 1931. And he believes as other Italian owners look to sell their clubs in the future, American businessmen should take advantage of the opportunity. Juventus's 10-year-old Allianz Stadium is one of the unusual club-owned arenas.

“I think there are going to be other sales taking place in the next 12 months,” Commisso said. “Is it going to be Americans? I can't say that for sure. But the fact that you have five American owners is changing things. We bring a new way of looking at things, some people don’t like it, and we have a big push to improve the infrastructure. We all want to get things done on the infrastructure side.”

Commisso himself is in the throes of building a new state-of-the-art sports complex near Stadio Artemio Franchi, to be called Viola Park, an €85 million ($99.6 million) project that would include training facilities and fields for men's and women's senior and youth soccer teams.  The project, which began construction earlier this year, has recently hit some regulatory snags.

Still, Commisso is confident that he will eventually get the project through.

“I’m a tough guy when it comes to most things,” Commisso said. “I’m not doing this to make money, I’m doing this to give back to soccer what soccer has done for me and to give back to my native Italy. It’s very hard for other people to understand that, but it is a fact.” 

Revenue rose 6.9% to $549.4 million and cash flow was up 16.3% to $246.8 million at Mediacom Communications in Q4, spurred by big increases in broadband customers during the pandemic.

Q4 marked Mediacom’s 96th consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth. The 16.3% rise in adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA, a measure of cash flow) and a 24% bump in free cash flow to $151 million for the period were both all-time records for the company. For the full year, revenue was up 4.9% to $2.1 billion and adjusted OIBDA increased 11.2% to $898.8 million, another record.

Driving that performance was Mediacom’s broadband service, which added 110,000 customers in 2020, nearly twice the 64,000 it added in 2019. For the quarter, broadband subscribers rose by 13,000 compared to a gain of 12,000 in Q4 2019.

Broadband revenue rose by 14.7% to $249.8 million in Q4 and by 12.3% for the year to $944 million. At the same time, video customers declined by 20,000 in Q4 (compared to a loss of 19,000 in 2019) and by 67,000 in 2020, compared to a loss of 66,000 in the prior year. 

“I am proud to announce record-breaking 2020 results, a truly exceptional performance in the face of the economic and operating challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” Mediacom chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said in a press release. “During these very difficult and trying times, Mediacom’s hard-working frontline employees have been critical to the mission of delivering fast and reliable broadband connections to our residential customers and their families, as well as to our commercial clients.” 

About 16 Tegna stations in 11 states went dark to Mediacom Communications customers Dec. 31, after the parties failed to reach a retransmission consent agreement.

Mediacom said its contract for the stations expired at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31, at which time it was forced to stop carrying the stations, even though it had offered to pay what the cable company called a “significant” increase over its previous agreement. The stations are ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and The CW affiliates located in about a dozen states, including Mediacom’s biggest markets in Iowa (Des Moines, Davenport and Ames).  

“Under federal law, we can't carry a station unless the owner grants us permission to do so,” Mediacom said in a press release, adding that Tegna continues to demand a hefty price increase for the stations. "In light of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, we feel these hefty increases are especially uncalled for and unjustified.”

On its station websites, Tegna said its rate requests reflect market rates and that the station group has managed to come to terms with several distributors over the years.

“We are committed to reaching a fair, market-based agreement with all the video service providers in our area," Tegna said on its station sites. “Our track record proves it. Over the past few years, we’ve reached hundreds of multi-year deals with cable and satellite companies all across the country, including Comcast, Spectrum and many others. It is disappointing that Mediacom has refused to reach an agreement.” 

The Mediacom dispute comes shortly after Tegna resolved a similar retrans spat with AT&T after a three-week  blackout. 

The stations involved in the Mediacom dispute are:

WQAD (ABC) Davenport, Iowa; Rock Island and Moline, Illinois

WOI, KCWI, WOID4 (ABC, The CW, COZI TV) Des Moines and Ames, Iowa

WZDX (Fox) Huntsville and Decatur, Alabama

WHAS (ABC) Louisville, Kentucky

WMAZ, WMAZ2 (CBS, The CW) Macon, Georgia

KARE (NBC) Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota

WWL (CBS) New Orleans

WVEC (ABC) Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News, Virginia

KPNX (NBC) Prescott, Arizona

KFMB, KFMBDT2 (CBS, The CW) San Diego, California

KSDK (NBC) St. Louis

KMSB (Fox) Tucson, Arizona

Mediacom Communications dodged a big retrans bullet on Monday, reaching a carriage agreement with Gray Television that involved stations in more than 35 markets across the country. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the country with about 663,000 video and 1.4 million broadband customers. 

Also Read: Retrans Season Starts With a Bang

While its Mediacom pact was negotiated without a service disruption, Gray TV is locked in a separate retrans spat involving one station -- ABC-affiliate WWSB in Sarasota, Florida -- that went dark to Frontier Communications customers on Dec. 18. Gray TV has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission claiming Frontier failed to negotiate in good faith, adding that it had offered to keep the station active to Frontier customers while negotiations continued. Frontier declined that offer.

Despite the ongoing pressures of the pandemic and the impact of two hurricanes and a massive wind storm on its service territory, Mediacom Communications reported the strongest cash flow growth in its  25-year history (15.4%), as broadband growth continued to drive Q3 results.

Revenue rose 5.5% to $538.6 million in the quarter, and adjusted OIBDA, a measure of cash flow, was $228.9 million, a 15.4% increase. That 15.4% increase also was tops among all publicly traded cable operators in the period. 

Helping to drive the results were record broadband subscriber gains -- Mediacom added 29,000 high-speed internet customers in the period, more than double the 13,000 it added in the previous year. Video subscriber losses at 13,000 in the period were lower than the 18,000 it lost in the same period  in 2019.

During the period Mediacom markets in several Gulf states successfully weathered Hurricane Zeta and  Hurricane Sally, in addition to high winds caused by a derecho  that rocked several communities in Iowa and Illinois. 

“Despite challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and the devastating windstorms and hurricanes impacting certain markets we serve, our dedicated and hard-working frontline employees rose to the task of helping Mediacom deliver outstanding results this quarter, both operationally and financially,” chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said in a press release, adding that the OIBDA growth was the highest in Mediacom’s 25-year history. “...Looking longer term, with CBRS spectrum rights acquired in the recent FCC auction, we are excited about the opportunity to provide fixed wireless broadband to hundreds of thousands of unserved or underserved households in close proximity to our existing footprint beginning in the second half of 2021, furthering our deliberate transition to a data-centric business model.”

Mediacom also managed to reduce its leverage in the period, lowering its net debt by $427 million to $1.857 billion in the period. Mediacom’s net leverage ratio fell to 2.03 times estimated cash flow from 2.88 times in the prior year.    

S&P Global said it has raised its corporate credit rating on Mediacom Communications to BBB with a stable outlook, two notches above its previous rating of BB+ and spurred by the cable operator’s commitment to debt reduction. 

Mediacom has consistently reduced debt, lowering its debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 2.4 times in the past 12 months, well below S&P’s upgrade trigger of 3 times cash flow, the credit rating agency said in a press release.

In addition, S&P noted that Mediacom chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder Rocco Commisso has committed to keeping the company’s leverage ratio below 3 times “which provides us with greater clarity into Mediacom's financial policy and potential for re-leveraging,” S&P said in the release.  

S&P said it has reassessed its ratings action triggers to better reflect its more favorable view of the telecom, cable and media business. 

An investment grade rating generally means that a corporate bond has a low risk of default. For a company, that usually means better access to capital and lower interest rates. 

“Our ready access to the financial markets and our low cost of debt capital clearly reflect that we have been granted investment grade treatment by investors for the past several years,” Commisso said in a separate press release. “I am pleased to see S&P also acknowledging, with a ‘double upgrade,’ that Mediacom has earned this enviable credit rating, given its strong operating performance, high quality credit metrics and rigorous financial discipline.”

In the second quarter, Mediacom added about 47,000 broadband customers, more than three times its additions in the prior year, while video subscriber losses remained stable at about 17,000. Revenue for the period was up 3% to $528.5 million and adjusted OIBDA rose 8% to $218.1 million.  

Mediacom Communications joined most other cable and telco operators in extending programs aimed at assisting consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic through June 30.

Mediacom joined several other cable and telco operators in extending its pledge to the Federal Communication Commission’s “Keep Americans Connected” program, agreeing not to disconnect broadband customers for nonpayment during the pandemic, waiving late fees and making WiFi hotspots available to the public. In addition, Mediacom said it has extended other coronavirus-related initiatives, like:

• Offering the Mediacom Connect2Compete low-cost Internet program free for 60 days to new qualifying families;

• Extending the pricing of Mediacom’s Access Internet 60 service to new customers at $19.99 per month for 12 months (currently retails for $29.99 per month);

• Pausing monthly data allowances across all Mediacom Internet service tiers;

• Providing complimentary access to all Mediacom Xtream WiFi Hotspots.

“The Coronavirus pandemic has forced schools across the nation to close their facilities and quickly implement online learning programs,” Mediacom’s EVP of Operations John Pascarelli said in a press release. “By extending these initiatives through June 30th, Mediacom hopes to help students, teachers and administrators safely and successfully finish the 2019-20 school year.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic has decimated company balance sheets and forced layoffs to deal with the economic malaise, Mediacom Communications founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso assured his more than 4,500 employees that they will keep their jobs at least through May 31, when some pundits believe the worst of the pandemic will be over.

In a letter to employees, Commisso said that he has been “amazed and inspired” by their resiliency and dedication as they continue to make sure customers stay connected. And he assured workers that although other companies have had to endure serious financial problems during the outbreak, Mediacom is stable.

Other companies, battered by the economic downturn fueled by the pandemic, have furloughed employees -- mostly those in customer-facing positions -- to cope with lost business. On Thursday, The Walt Disney Co. said it would furlough non-essential workers beginning April 19. Overall, the number of unemployment insurance claims doubled to a record 6.6 million for the week of March 28 according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

Related: Commisso, ACF Fiorentina Surpass Coronavirus Fundraising Goal

“In the 25 years since I founded Mediacom, we have never resorted to laying off our employees, even during the worst economic downturns,” Commisso wrote. “We have no plans to start now as our belief has always been that if our employees take care of our customers and our communities, we will take care of them.

“I want to assure all 4,500 of our employees that Mediacom intends to continue to provide them with gainful employment, pay and benefits through at least May 31, 2020,” he continued. “By that time, we hope this pandemic will be over and our business and lives will return to normal.”

Here’s the full text of the statement:

“As our nation’s battle against the Coronavirus intensifies, I continue to be amazed and inspired by the courage and resiliency of the Mediacom Family. From our engineers, technicians and customer care representatives to our warehouse personnel, everyone is working tirelessly to keep our network running and to make sure the customers we serve stay connected.

“While this health crisis has caused serious financial problems for thousands of businesses across the United States and forced millions of Americans into the unemployment line, I want all Mediacom employees to know that our company is stable both operationally and financially.

“In the 25 years since I founded Mediacom, we have never resorted to laying off our employees, even during the worst economic downturns. We have no plans to start now as our belief has always been that if our employees take care of our customers and our communities, we will take care of them.”

“I want to assure all 4,500 of our employees that Mediacom intends to continue to provide them with gainful employment, pay and benefits through at least May 31, 2020. By that time, we hope this pandemic will be over and our business and lives will return to normal.”

Mediacom Communications said Monday it has completed $2.17 billion in debt transactions, deals that will lower its interest payments significantly and extend maturities on certain obligations.

The deals include about $745 million of revolving credit facilities and $1.425 billion in bank term loans for its Mediacom LLC and Mediacom Broadband LLC subsidiaries.

In a press release, Mediacom said the transactions extended nearly 80% of its debt maturities to March 2025, with the remainder due February 2024. The deals also reduced the average interest rate on Mediacom’s total outstanding debt from 4.2% in Q1 2019 to under 2.5%, an all-time low for the company. As a result, Mediacom’s annualized interest expense dropped from $99 million in Q1 2019 to under $53 million currently, another all-time low for the company.

“We are very pleased with the execution of these financing transactions, particularly given the extreme market turbulence caused by the coronavirus pandemic since we launched the syndication three weeks ago,” Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said in a press release. “The debt markets recognize that Mediacom is among the strongest financially in the U.S. cable sector, with the lowest cost of debt relative to other major cable companies. We are grateful for the steadfast support of our long-time banking relationships and, at the same time, we welcome our new lenders. As always, I am thankful for the tremendous work and determination of Mediacom’s 4,500 employees, who produced excellent financial and operational results in 2019, highlighted in Q4 2019 by our 92nd consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth and record free cash flow generation. Their continued efforts are vital to keeping our communities connected throughout this public health crisis.”

UPDATED: Small cable operators are answering the call to provide wider access to broadband services as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt lives across the country, offering free service to low-income qualifying homes and beefing up speeds to account for increased traffic as residents increasingly work from home.

While larger companies like Comcast,Charter, Altice USA and others have grabbed headlines with their broadband offerings during the crisis, small cable is stepping up to the plate too, including Mediacom Communications, Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) and TDS Telecom, to name a few.

Related: NCTA: Cable Stepping Up to Confront Coronavirus 

Shentel, which offers service in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky and Ohio, said it will temporarily increase the speed of every eligible small business and residential broadband data customer to a minimum speed tier of 50 Megabits per second with a 750 gigabyte data allowance at no additional charge regardless of their current plan. In addition, Shentel said it will waive all installation fees for new broadband data subscribers and increase data allowances by 250 GB for all customers whose current rate plan includes a monthly data allowance. These changes take effect immediately and will remain in effect through April 30.

“We believe the decision to increase data speeds and allowances is a critical step to help our customers throughout our service area at this time of great uncertainty,” Shentel CEO Christopher French said in a press release. “Shentel has served many of these markets for more than 100 years and cares deeply for the health and wellbeing of our customers. By temporarily increasing the speeds and data allowances at no additional charge for our customers, we hope we are making the situation surrounding COVID-19 a little easier to deal with when they may be forced to work from home, do school work or attend classes virtually.”

Shentel also addressed concerns over whether its broadband service will be able to handle the increased capacity, adding that its core network is designed with geographically redundant equipment and diverse fiber facilities to support maximum uptime. All network devices support secure remote management and monitoring capabilities.

TDS Telecommunications, which offers service to 900 rural, suburban and metropolitan communities in 26 states, said it will be offering broadband access to low-income individuals and/or families with children and college students for 60 days. This offer is for new customers in communities where TDS provides service.

“As a company, our first priority is the health and well-being of our employees, customers and the communities we serve,” TDS SVP of corporate affairs Drew Petersen said in a press release. “During this difficult time, we want to ensure those who cannot afford broadband services have the essential access they need.”

TDS also signed the “Keep America Connected” pledge, and will forego charging late payment penalties for customers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic; suspend disconnects for customers due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic who fail to pay their bills; and open its WiFi hotspots for 60 days.

“We are proud to be associated with this important communications service continuity program and commend the FCC for their proactive attention to public safety during this most difficult time,” Petersen added.

Sparklight (Cable One) is opening  WiFi hotspots across its footprint for public use during the crisis, according to the company. WiFi hotspots can be accessed free of charge in Sparklight local office parking lots. the company announced last week that it is making unlimited data available on all Internet services for the next 30 days, and is offering payment deferrals and waiving late fees for its customers for the next 60 days.

The company said it plans to reassess after 30 days based on the continued impact and evolving nature of the virus. 

“We live and work in the communities we serve and these are our friends and neighbors impacted by effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19), so we want to do our part to help,” CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. “We understand that our customers rely on their Internet service to stay connected to family, work, school and information, and we are committed to ensuring they receive the assistance they need during this time.”

Later, CableOne said its family of brands (Sparklight, NewWave Communications and Fidelity Communications) are offering a 15 Mbps Internet plan for $10 per month is available for the next 60 days to help low income families, seniors and college students . No documentation will be required to sign up for this plan.

Comporium, the small market cable and telecom company based in xx South Carolina, said it is offering internet to new customers in homes with K-12 and higher education students.

The news comes as South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper moved to close all public schools in those states through the end of March.

Comporium is offering 60 days of free Standard HSI service and free installation to new customers in homes where a student lives and meets the following requirements:

• It is the primary home of a student in kindergarten through high school, in technical school, in college, or in graduate school;
• Currently without our internet service and that hasn’t had internet service with Comporium for the past 90 days; and
• Located where Comporium would normally provide internet service.

Comporium is also waiving installation fees and normal security deposit process and plans to keep this opportunity available to new customers through the end of March, after which it will reevaluate the situation.

The company said it is working with customers to ensure their internet service is not disconnected during the COVID-19 outbreak as well as the Lancaster County School District to assist them as they prepared to meet their students’ needs remotely. As more school districts in its service territory prepare to send students and teachers home, the company said it will assist them in any way to make their jobs easier. 

The company also addressed fears that its network won't be able to handle the additional residential internet traffic, adding that it has recently made upgrades to both its core network and field equipment. The company said its broadband network is "more than capable of handling the additional strain of many people working and learning from home," and that its technicians are also monitoring the network continuously to ensure that they detect and address any problems as soon as possible.

MCTV  in Stark, Wayne and seven other counties in Eastern Ohio also will offer free Internet access for families without online service.

[embed]https://twitter.com/MCTVOhio/status/1239928307413639168[/embed]

“The well-being of our employees, customers and neighbors is our top priority,” said MCTV president Katherine Gessner in a press release. “MCTV is committed to providing the communities we serve reliable access to online resources and information needed to continue education efforts during this time of need.”

MCTV will offer free Internet access for households that do not have an MCTV broadband subscription currently but do have K-12 or college students. Free Internet will be provided for families who have not been a MCTV customer for 90 days. The offer is available now through April 30.

“These are unprecedented times not just for our communities but for the entire world,” Gessner  continued. “The impact of changes we are all experiencing is immense and MCTV will be here to serve our communities so they can stay connected to what matters most at this time – family, friends, education and healthcare resources."

[embed]https://twitter.com/wctel/status/1239964955337613319[/embed]

Other smaller operators like Wyandotte Municipal Services in Wyandotte, Michigan; and Abbeville, South Carolina-based West Carolina Telephone are offering similar free service offerings and fee waivers.  

In addition:

• In Virginia, Illinois, Cass Communications said it will not terminate services to residential or small business customers who cannot pay their bills because of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that it also will waive late fees and will open its WiFi hotspots.
• Clinton, North Carolina-based Star Communications said it is working to establish 30 drive-up WiFi hotspots at various schools and other public locations in Sampson and Bladen counties in the state, a move toward facilitating learning for students forced away from their classrooms and a public in need of connectivity during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
• Atlantic Broadband has introduced a special tier for a limited time -- Atlantic Broadband Internet Assist -- for residents in need in its services areas that don’t currently have internet service. The new 15 x 1 Mbps service, normally priced at $9.99 per month plus taxes, will be offered free for 60 days. New Internet Assist customers also will receive free installation and a free modem with the service. The cable operator also has a new tier for business customers that want to supply at home workers with voice and internet service called Atlantic Broadband Business Assist. The Business Assist package includes 50 Mbps High Speed Internet, a modem, a Hosted Voice Seat, and a Polycom Phone (or equivalent). It is being offered on a temporary basis at the discounted rate of $29.99 (a savings of approximately $100/month off standard prices).
• Service Electric has joined the FCC Keep Americans Connected Pledge, adding it will offer free broadband modems to qualifying customers and a 60-day financial grace period, during the outbreak.
• Buckeye Broadband has pledged not to disconnect high-speed internet or phone services to customers for non-payment due to economic hardship related to the outbreak. The policy was effective March 17 and is in place for 30 days. Company leaders said they will continue to review the policy “to ensure we are responding to current conditions and meeting our customers’ needs.” Buckeye Broadband also will work with local schools to identify students whose families cannot afford Internet access, and has committed to provide those students with an Internet connection at no charge during that time so that they can continue their studies.
• Eagle Broadband, Northland Communications and Vyve Broadband have signed the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected pledge. Additionally, customer care teams will offer flexible payment options to help see customers through this period. Eagle, Northland and Vyve are working with local leaders to help keep communities connected and also invite residents in need to use WiFi in the proximity of their local offices.
• Anchorage, Alaska-based GCI is offering existing broadband customers free upgrades to the next higher tier of service until May 31,  and free internet access to qualifying homes until the same date. 

#coronavirus #COVID-19

Mediacom Communications said it has initiated a series of programs to help families in its service territory address work, education and health care challenges created by the Coronavirus pandemic, including more than doubling the speeds for its low-cost broadband tier, Conect2Compete.

Like other cable operators, Mediacom is offering its low-cost broadband service for free for 60 days to qualifying families within its footprint. The cable operator said Monday it is increasing the download speed of Connect2Compete to 25 Mbps from 10 Mbps, and upload speed to 3 Mbps from 1 Mbps. In addition, Mediacom said it is extending the pricing of Mediacom’s Access Internet 60 broadband service to new customers at $19.99 per month for the next 12 months (currently retails for $29.99 per month); pausing monthly data allowances across all Mediacom broadband service tiers through May 15; and providing complimentary access to all Mediacom Xtream WiFi Hotspots for 60 days.

“Mediacom recognizes our broadband network will continue to be a powerful tool used to combat the spread of the Coronavirus in the more than 1,500 communities we serve,” Mediacom EVP of Operations John Pascarelli said in a press release. “By helping as many people as possible get online, we hope to create opportunities for patients to safely connect with their doctors through telemedicine applications, for students to continue their studies online, and for employees to work from home.”

Mediacom joins other cable operators like Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA who are offering free broadband to qualifying homes as fears over the continued spread of the coronavirus has shut down schools and forced many people to work from home.

In addition to these changes, Mediacom joined dozens of other internet service providers in signing onto the 60 day Keep Americans Connected Pledge issued by Federal Communications chairman Ajit Pai on March 13. As part of this pledge, Mediacom will not disconnect service or assess late fees to any customer that calls and informs the company that it cannot pay its bills during this period.

Mediacom Communications added about 12,000 broadband customers in Q4, three times the 4,000 it gained in the prior year, helping to drive strong financial growth at the mid-sized operator in the period.

Mediacom ended Q4 with about 1.3 million broadband customers. Video subscriber losses, at about 19,000 in the period, were slightly above the 17,000 it lost in the same period in 2018.

That broadband growth helped fuel a 3.5% increase in revenue to $513.9 million in the quarter. Adjusted OIBDA rose 8.2% to $212.3 million in the period. Capital expenditures for the quarter were $70.5 million, compared to $96.3 million in the prior year period.

For the full year, revenue was $2.03 billion at the mid-sized operator, up 3.8% from the prior year. Adjusted OIBDA increased 8.5% to $808 million for the full year. Capex was down about 11% to $296.6 million from $333.7 million, and free cash flow increased 31% to $418.9 million from $319.5 million in the prior year.

Back in December, Mediacom paid off its public bond debt, releasing it from the obligation to file financial reports to the public. The company said at the time that it may continue to make its quarterly financial statements public, although it was not required to do so. 

Mediacom Communications added 13,000 high speed internet customers in the third quarter, a 44% increase over the previous year, fueling a nearly 8% rise in cash flow for the mid-sized cable operator.

The broadband gains outpaced continued subscriber losses on the video side -- video subscribers declined by 18,000 customers, ahead of the 15,000 it lost in the prior year. But the broadband growth was enough to offset those video declines, driving total revenue up 3.5% to $510.6 million and cash flow up 7.8% to $198.3 million.

Capital expenditures were down to $75.9 million from $80.7 million in the prior year. Free cash flow increased 20.8% to $98.5 million in the period.

Mediacom finished Q3 with about 1.32 million broadband customers and 729,000 video customers, mainly in the Midwest and Southeast portions of the country. The fifth largest cable operator in the country is privately held but releases financial figures because it has some public debt. 

Mediacom Communications said it will become the official jersey sponsor of Italian soccer club ACF Fiorentina, a move that will help the team, purchased earlier this year by Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso, compete.

Commisso purchased the club in June. He also owns the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League.  ACF Fiorentina, based in Florence, Italy and known by fans as “La Viola” for the violet color of its uniforms, has had some past success, winning the Italian Cup in 2001. The team finished 16th in Serie A last season.

According to reports, the club did not have a jersey sponsor last season. Mediacom had sponsored shirts for the club during the preseason. Terms of the most recent deal were not disclosed.

In a press release, Mediacom said the sponsorship will provide “considerable funds to help the Florence-based club compete in the world of soccer with its very stringent rules.”

Europe’s governing soccer body, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), instituted Financial Fair Play regulations in the 2011-12 season which broadly tied the amount of money a club could spend on the income it generated over a three year period.

“I believe greatly in the image potential of Florence and Fiorentina,” Commisso said in a press release. “This sponsorship will ensure the Fiorentina brand enjoys not just national but also international visibility thanks to Mediacom. I am convinced that strengthening the ties between Mediacom and Fiorentina is essential to obtain reciprocal benefits and help both companies achieve significant targets.”

Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said it upgraded Mediacom Communications’ corporate debt rating to Ba1 (one notch below investment grade) with a stable outlook, based on the mid-sized cable operator’s continued ability to pare down its debt.

Moody’s said that Mediacom has steadily reduced its debt over the years -- its 2018 leverage ratio was 3.2 times cash flow, compared to 6.8 times in 2001 -- and that is expected to continue. Moody’s estimated Mediacom would further reduce leverage to 2.5 times by the end of 2019.

Aside from a conservative financial policy -- it has not made a debt-financed acquisition in eight years, pays down debt with its own free cash flow generation and does not pay dividends -- Moody’s said Mediacom’s performance also supports the rating, with mid-single-digit percentage increases in revenue and cash flow. Business services revenue, Moody ‘s added, is growing at an 8% to 10% clip.

In the fourth quarter revenue rose 5.2% to $496.4 million, while adjusted operating income before interest and depreciation (AOIBDA), rose 6.6% to $196.2 million. For the full year, revenue was up 4.2% to $1.956 billion, and AOIBDA rose 4.6% to $745 million. 

Synacor said it has renewed and expanded its deal with Media Communications.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Synacor said the new deal extends its existing portal and advertising agreement and expands Mediacom’s use of Advanced Cloud ID, Synacor’s identity management and authentication platform that will enable Mediacom to use apps tied to their pay TV subscription without having to repeatedly enter user names and passwords.  

RELATED: Synacor Cracks Down on Password Abuse  

Mediacom has also reupped its agreement to use Synacor’s Zimbra email and collaboration platform. Synacor acquired Zimbra in 2015.  

Other Synacor customers from the service provider arena include Service Electric Cablevision, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, AT&T, HBO, WideOpenWest, Armstrong Cable, Atlantic Broadband, CenturyLink Cable One, Cincinnati Bell, Mediacom Communications, Verizon, GCI, Hotwire, Charter Communications, Windstream, and Grande Communications, among others. 

Mediacom Business, Mediacom Communications’s commercial services unit, said it will soon boost the downstream broadband speeds across several tiers, a move that follows its national rollout of 1-Gig capabilities using DOCSIS 3.1.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

Starting April 1, Mediacom Business will upgrade existing customers that are taking the following downstream speed tiers:

-10 Mbps rises to 60 Mbps

-20 Mbps jumps to 100 Mbps

-50 Mbps rises to 300 Mbps

“As a technology company, we know broadband fuels innovation and erases geographical boundaries of competition, particularly in rural America,” said Dan Templin, SVP of Mediacom Business, in a statement. “Because we expanded the top-line capabilities of our fiber-rich network, we are now able to significantly enhance all of our other existing service levels.”

Mediacom Communications reported fourth quarter results Thursday (Feb. 22), improving video losses significantly while stepping up gains in broadband and voice customers compared to the prior year.

Mediacom finished Q4 with 821,000 video subscribers, down by about 2,000 but still a big improvement over the same period in the prior year when the company lost 6,000 video customers. High-speed data subscriber additions also improved – to 15,000 compared with 11,000 in 2016. Voice customer additions also improved to 22,000 versus 12,000 in the prior year.

Revenue for the quarter was $471.8 million (up 2.5%), and operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA, a measure of cash flow) was relatively flat at $184.1 million (up 0.5%). In a statement Mediacom said excluding advertising revenue – which benefitted from the 2016 presidential election – OIBDA would have increased by 3.1% and revenue would have been up 3.5% during the period.

For the full year, revenue of $1.88 billion increased 3.7% and OIBDA rose 2.6% to $712 million. Excluding advertising, Mediacom said revenue would have been up 4.6% and OIBDA would have increased 4.6% for the full year.

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the country, with 821,000 video customers and 1.4 million customer relationships.

To help fuel its IP video transition, Mediacom Communications will deploy Evolution’s “eBOX,” a hybrid IP/QAM set-top that will be powered by TiVo’s software and user interface.

Read More: Additional Coverage of the NCTC Winter Educational Conference

Mediacom, which has deploying a video offering that leans on TiVo’s platform since striking the original deal in 2012, will use the eBOX as its primary, next-gen, non-DVR device throughout its footprint.

RELATED: Mediacom Powers Up TiVo Play

Evolution Digital said Mediacom’s deployment of the eBOX will include Evolution Digital-enabled IP-based pay-per-view services.

“We are excited to bring Evolution Digital’s cost-effective eBOX to our customers and provide the best content available on an enriched and streamlined platform,” JR Walden SVP and CTO of Mediacom, said in a statement. “We have made the eBOX our primary next-generation non-DVR set-top box for households throughout our systems.”

The new agreement exposes eBOX to Mediacom’s base of nearly 1.4 million customers.

Examples of other operators that are deploying Evolution Digital’s eBOX include GCI, RCN, Wave Broadband, WideOpenWest (WOW!), and several operators that are tied into Evolution’s agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative.

Evolution Digital timed the announcement with this week’s NCTC Winter Educational Conference in San Antonio.

The latest eBOX deployment deal also comes on the heels of Evolution’s introduction last week of the eSTREAM 4K, an all-IP device for on tier 2/3 cable providers that’s powered by Android TV.

RELATED: Evolution Digital Launches Android TV-Based Box for MVPDs

Sprint is targeting Mediacom Communications in a lawsuit alleging that the cable operator has violated 13 Sprint patents tied to VoIP services, the Kansas City Business Journal reported.

Mediacom declined to comment on the suit, as it’s still reviewing the claim. Sprint filed the suit in a federal court in Delaware last Friday (December 1), the paper said, noting that Sprint is seeking damages yet to be determined along with a permanent injunction.

Sprint has had some success going after cable operators with patent suits. In October, Comcast disclosed in a 10-Q filing that it had paid $250 million to Sprint to settle a lawsuit stemming from claims that the MSO’s digital voice service was infringing on several Sprint patents.

RELATED: Comcast Settles Sprint Patent Spat

Time Warner Cable (now part of Charter Communications) lost its case with Sprint in a judgement handed down earlier this year. Sprint’s suit against Cable One was dismissed by the court in November 2016, according to court documents.

RELATED: Sprint Sues Comcast, TWC, Cox And Cable One Over VoIP Patents

Mid-sized cable operator Mediacom Communications added 9,000 high-speed internet customers in the third quarter, offsetting a loss of 6,000 video subscribers and helping to fuel a nearly 4% revenue gain in the period.

Mediacom grew revenue to $471.6 million, or about 3.8%. The video losses in the seasonally weak period were an improvement over the prior year, when Mediacom shed about 8,000 video customers. The operator also added 22,000 phone customers in the period.

RELATED: Mediacom Refinances Bank Facilities

Operating income before interest, depreciation and amortization (OIBDA, a measure of cash flow) was up 2.3% to $173 million in the quarter, and overall customer relationships rose 1.4% to 1.4 million. Mediacom ended the period with about 823,000 video subscribers.

Mediacom Communications said it has launched DOCSIS 3.1 and 1 Gbps (downstream) broadband service to parts of Delaware, Maryland and Michigan.

That expansion covers 27 more communities, including 19 in Delaware’s Sussex County, and others in southeastern Maryland and southwestern Michigan.

Mediacom upgraded its HFC network to D3.1 last year, and has been launching service with the technology in various parts of its footprint, including portions of Missouri, Kansas, northern Indiana; Illinois; Georgia; Minnesota; Huntsville, Ala.; southern Tennessee, and Iowa, and, of recent note, to its Gulf Coast markets.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

Mediacom said it now offers 1-Gig service to more than 1,250 communities, with the latest round factored in. It’s also rolling out a new 500 Mbps tier in its new 1-Gig markets.

Mediacom has been selling a 1-Gig (downstream) service, paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, at $139.99 per month as a standalone, with a “promotional package offers” that will arrive at a later date. Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage).

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Mediacom Communications expanded its launch of DOCSIS 3.1-based gigabit broadband service by debuting the service in its Gulf Coast markets, starting with 55 communities in south Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

As DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems become more readily available, Mediacom said it intends to launch 1-Gig on a market-by-market basis throughout the remainder of 2017, including 36 additional Florida and Alabama communities over the next month.

Factoring in the latest service launches, Mediacom said it now offers 1 Gbps service to more than 1,200 U.S. communities.

Mediacom upgraded its HFC network to D3.1 last year, and has also launched 1-Gig service in several other parts of its footprint, including parts of Missouri, Kansas, northern Indiana; Illinois; Georgia; Minnesota; Huntsville, Ala.; southern Tennessee, and Iowa.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

In addition to the 1-Gig offering, Mediacom is also introducing a new 500 Mbps service tier in its D3.1 markets.

Early on, Mediacom has been selling a 1-Gig (downstream) service, paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, at $139.99 per month as a standalone, with a “promotional package offers” that will also be announced at a later date.  Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage). Mediacom has also been introducing a new 500 Mbps tier in its D3.1 markets.

“Creating true gigabit communities across our national footprint was a central component of the 3-year, $1 billion capital expenditure plan announced by Mediacom in 2016,” Doug Frank, group VP for Mediacom’s Coastal Region, said in a statement. “Our aggressive rollout of gigabit speeds has provided dozens of cities and towns across South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with a distinct technological advantage in today’s global marketplace.”  

The MCN 2017 Gatekeepers: Dish’s Andrew LeCuyer: Starting the ‘Hard Conversation’|Mediacom’s Italia Commisso Weinand: ‘Do the Right Thing’|WOW’s Roger Seiken: ‘It Has to Be a Win-Win’|A Veteran Gatekeeper For a New Distributor

Summing up the current state of programming in a simple sentence, the sometimes controversial but always erudite Sanford Bernstein media analyst Todd Juenger last month told a crowd of small and midsized cable operators, “Maybe content is king, but television networks are not content.”

Networks, Juenger argued during a talk at last month’s The Independent Show in Indianapolis, are aggregators of content. And aggregators are increasingly losing their once-tight grip on the pay TV landscape, as subscriber losses increase and advertising revenue dwindles.

It looks as if, finally, the pendulum is starting to swing in favor of distribution.

That, too, is another maybe. Traditional multichannel video programming distributors are gaining leverage, but nobody buys cable service to stare at the fiber network. Content is still key to the overall package. It’s just that the packages are changing.

Younger consumers, weaned on ad-free subscription video-on-demand services like Netflix, are increasingly expecting the same functionality from pay TV. That has led to a new flexibility in carriage talks.

LOOSENING THE BUNDLE
Programmers, which just a few years ago vehemently opposed skinny bundles when they were first introduced, now embrace the concept. Distributors, which in the past have chafed over having to buy a full suite of networks or nothing at all, are finding more and more programmers willing to loosen that bundle and even develop new content to help differentiate against competitive, lower priced offerings from over-the-top players.

In some cases, programmers have been more flexible about their networks, Mediacom Communications executive vice president of programming and human resources Italia Commisso Weinand said. She noted NBCUniversal’s willingness to shut down some less profitable networks, including Cloo, Esquire Network and Universal HD. But she warned distributors not to be complacent. “The wars are not over,” she said, adding that consolidation and subscriber losses are forcing content companies to reset rates more often. “You can work through consolidation; you can’t work through customers not coming back.

“If you look at the video universe, we had 100 million homes once upon a time,” she said. “There aren’t 100 million homes anymore; on a good day there’s maybe 85 million. Truly, cord-cutting has had an impact. That’s lost revenue for the networks; how do [they] get it back? Charge the same customers more money.”

Though the conflict between content providers and distribution methods may rage on, the battlefields are changing. In April, Charter Communications landed a deal with AMC Networks for exclusive content developed just for the two partners’ use. The first content installment from that partnership is expected in 2018.

As part of the agreement, Charter will have an exclusive initial U.S. window to the co-produced content for use on its own platform, while AMC Studios will retain subsequent rights, including the right to distribute the programming internationally. In June, Charter also began beta-testing Spectrum Stream, a sports-free skinny bundle that offers 25 channels for $19.95 per month. Comcast also struck a unique, exclusive deal with AMC Networks, which is providing the MSO with AMC Premiere, an ad-free version of its AMC cable channel available to Xfinity TV subscribers for $4.99 per month.

Smaller operators are encouraged by those developments, but see them as experiments more than anything else. Those operators also have some physical constraints — AMC Premiere would require bandwidth many small operators don’t possess.

Perhaps that attitude is helped along by the fact there aren’t many major deals up for negotiation. Charter’s deal with The Walt Disney Co. is expected to expire by the end of this year, but for the most part operators are focusing on retrans deals.

RETRANS RELIEF FOR SMALLER OPS
For smaller operators, some retrans relief may be coming from their buying co-op, the National Cable Television Cooperative. It has said it expects to begin negotiations soon for its members, 850 companies and nearly 10 million subscribers.

NCTC member WideOpenWest is still working through whether to participate in the group’s retrans negotiations, but believes the representation could be beneficial to small operators, senior vice president of programming Roger Seiken said.

“This is a huge service to their members,” Seiken said. “Those deals are tough if you don’t have a lot of subscribers; it’s tough to do the best job you can. Having an advocate like [NCTC CEO] Rich Fickle and [NCTC senior vice president of programming] Judy [Meyka] by your side negotiating those deals — it’s a great honor. I’m very excited about that.”

With the media landscape changing faster than the polar icecap, Multichannel News takes its annual look at the decision-makers for top pay TV distributors across the country, listed by number of video subscribers: The 2017 Gatekeepers.

AT&T
DANIEL YORK
EVP and Chief Content Officer

If its $108.7 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Inc. passes regulatory muster, AT&T won’t just be the largest content licensor in the world, it will be one of the largest content owners.

Once the deal is approved, AT&T will control more than 25 million video customers through satellite provider DirecTV, telco TV platform U-verse TV and virtual MVPD DirecTV Now, and will own iconic content brands like HBO, TBS, CNN and Cartoon Network.

As executive vice president and chief content officer for AT&T Entertainment Group, Daniel York and his team will oversee content acquisition for the distribution properties.

York, who was named to his current role in 2012, is a veteran of the business who oversees AT&T’s content and programming activities across all platforms, including satellite, mobile, online and IPTV.

He leads strategy, investments, negotiations, acquisitions, operations, development and original content, as well as NFL Sunday Ticket, Red Zone and Fantasy Zone content. York also manages the company’s four regional sports networks and the Audience Network, all Emmy award winners. Previously, York was chief content officer for DirecTV, where he oversaw similar functions.

Prior to joining DirecTV, he was president of AT&T content and advertising sales, where he developed the telco’s original content strategy, oversaw multiplatform content and ad sales activities, and helped build U-verse TV into the fastest-growing video provider in the U.S., going from zero to more than 5 million customers and $10 billion in annual revenue in under six years.

Before AT&T, York was head of programming and development for In Demand Networks, the leading video-on-demand, out-of-market sports package and pay-per-view provider. He began his career with HBO, where he worked for more than 12 years; in his last position there, he was responsible for distribution, marketing, sponsorship, content acquisitions and operations for HBO Sports’s pay-per-view business.

York is based at AT&T Entertainment Group headquarters in Los Angeles.

COMCAST
GREG RIGDON
EVP, Content Acquisition

Since coming from Charter Communications in 2010, Comcast Cable executive vice president of content acquisition Greg Rigdon has been part of some of the industry’s landmark deals — including Comcast’s 2012 renewal with The Walt Disney Co., which helped set the tone and template for years to come.

Rigdon oversees the strategic direction of the company’s content portfolio, including the negotiation of programming agreements for cable systems.

Among his recent accomplishments, in January Comcast ended a years-long dispute with 21st Century Fox’s YES Network, returning the regional sports network to Comcast’s New York-area customers. It had been dark since November 2015.

That deal also included continued carriage of Fox News Channel. Terms were not disclosed, but reports put the four-year pact for Fox News at about $1.50 per subscriber per month initially, with annual increases.

Also in January, the cable operator completed a comprehensive carriage deal with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision that also included broadcast network UniMás and cable network Galavisión, as well as its owned-and-operated stations.

The rest of the year is expected to be a bit more quiet; no major network renewals are expected.

Before joining Comcast, Rigdon was Charter’s executive vice president, programming, business development and strategy. He also previously held senior roles in programming strategy, business affairs and commerce at AOL.

Rigdon has a bachelor’s degree with high honors from Oberlin College and a master’s degree in Russian studies from Princeton University.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Jennifer Gaiski, senior vice president, content acquisition; Sarah Gitchell, senior vice president/deputy general counsel; Justin Smith, senior vice president, content acquisition

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS
DAVID ELLEN
Senior EVP

David Ellen joined Charter as senior executive vice president in 2016, but he has already been involved in some major deals.

Earlier this year, Charter settled a months-long legal dispute with 21st Century Fox over how its programming contracts are interpreted. Court documents in July indicated the suit had been “discontinued with prejudice,” and though neither side would comment, it appeared the suit had been settled.

In addition, Fox Networks Group channels, including the Fox broadcast network, FX, National Geographic and the Fox Sports-owned RSNs, apparently reached a deal at the same time. Those networks’ deals expired in April, but they had remained on the air through several extensions. While no formal announcement of a deal has come, Charter systems are still carrying the channels.

Ellen was also instrumental in a less-contentious deal, the AMC Networks content partnership announced in April that calls for Charter and AMC to co-produce, co-develop and co-fund original programming that will initially run exclusively on Charter systems. The first content from that agreement is expected to debut next year.

Ellen oversees several Charter business and corporate functions, including programming, Spectrum Networks, human resources, communications, diversity, security, regulatory policy support and compliance, and legal support for several of those areas.

He joined Charter from Cablevision Systems (now part of Altice USA), where he served as executive vice president and general counsel. Before Cablevision, Ellen served as deputy general counsel at IAC, the multi-brand media and internet company.

Earlier in his career, Ellen worked at the Federal Communications Commission and before that was a law clerk for now-retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the U.S. Supreme Court. He also clerked for Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg when they were each on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College; a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review; and a master’s degree from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.

TOM MONTEMAGNO
EVP, Programming Acquisition

Tom Montemagno joined Charter Communications as executive vice president, programming acquisition, in 2016 and leads its negotiations with a full range of content providers, from major multichannel media companies and sports networks to local broadcasters. He negotiates all facets of Charter’s programming offerings, including on-demand and home-streaming rights on multiple platforms.

Montemagno joined Charter from Cablevision, where he most recently served as executive vice president of programming. During his 27-year tenure, he held such leadership positions as senior vice president of programming acquisition. He was Cablevision’s lead negotiator with content companies.

Montemagno has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from St. John’s University in New York.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: David Lange, group vice president, programming acquisition; Andrew Rosenberg, senior vice president, programming acquisition; Adam Weinstein, senior vice president, programming acquisition

DISH NETWORK
WARREN SCHLICHTING
EVP, Marketing, Programming and Media Sales

A veteran advertising and media executive, Warren Schlichting oversees the acquisition and renewal of all programming content for Dish Network, including national networks and cable channels, Latino content, local broadcast stations, and premium services such as HBO, Showtime and Starz. Schlichting also oversees Dish’s national marketing efforts and Dish Media Sales, the company’s advertising-sales division.

Prior to joining Dish in 2011, Schlichting led Comcast’s advanced advertising efforts on multiple media and ad delivery platforms, including broadband, interactive television and video-on-demand. Before arriving at Comcast, he was CEO of Hiwire, a Los Angeles-based technology company that provided online ad replacement software for Clear Channel and other radio station groups. He also served in executive positions for Morgan Stanley and the William E. Simon private-equity group.

Schlichting graduated with honors with a degree in Economics from Harvard University, where he was a four-year member of the varsity football team.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Josh Clark, vice president of programming; Izabela Slowikowska, vice president of international programming; Melisa Ordonez, director of programming acquisition; Ankit Bishnoi, content acquisition for Sling TV

ANDREW LECUYER
SVP, Programming

As Dish’s senior vice president of programming, Andy LeCuyer leads the acquisition and renewal of programming content for Dish and Sling TV. In this role, he leads general entertainment, local broadcast, sports, movie studio and Latino content acquisition, including securing satellite and digital rights (encompassing traditional linear, video-on-demand, TV everywhere and OTT), as well as programming operations.

LeCuyer joined Dish in 2011 as director of programming, overseeing local retransmission relationships nationwide. Soon after, he assumed responsibility for premium, pay-per-view and international programming.

Most recently, LeCuyer led multiple negotiations to secure landmark programming agreements for the launch of Sling TV, the U.S. pay TV industry’s first live over-the-top television service.

Prior to joining Dish, LeCuyer served as vice president of strategic planning for a consumer electronics retailer. Additionally, he spent more than four years as a management consultant for McKinsey, covering a wide range of industries including retail and IT services.

LeCuyer earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University and a master’s in business administration from Yale School of Management. Following ROTC training during his undergraduate studies, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he served four years in progressive leadership roles and achieved the rank of captain.

NATIONAL CABLE TELEVISION COOPERATIVE
JUDY MEYKA
EVP, Programming

Judy Meyka, executive vice president of programming for the National Cable Television Cooperative, has spent more than 24 years in the cable television industry. In her current role with the NCTC, she leads the negotiation of video content acquisition agreements across multiple formats and platforms on behalf of more than 800 independent video distributors.

Meyka has been a central part of several key programming negotiations for NCTC members. Last year, the co-op successfully negotiated a deal with AMC Networks that didn’t force members to carry  all six of the programmer’s networks on their most popular tiers, a key development.

Later this year, the NCTC plans to take an even bigger bull by the horns: negotiating its members’ retransmission-consent deals with broadcast groups. Previously, Meyka served in several executive leadership positions, most recently as senior vice president, programming, for Adelphia Communications.

Prior to joining Adelphia, she was senior vice president, distribution, for In Demand and also worked as vice president, programming, for cable distributors AT&T Broadband and MediaOne Group.

Meyka is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received her law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Stewart Myers, vice president, programming; Shelley Thompson, vice president, programming

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS
ERIN McPHERSON
Head of Content Acquisition and Programming

Erin McPherson joined Verizon last December from short-form video pioneer Maker Studios. As head of the telco’s content activities, she oversees programming, strategic partnerships and original content across distribution platforms including Fios, OTT initiatives, IPTV, Oath, Go90, wireless and 5G.

McPherson replaced long-time Verizon content chief Terry Denson. She reports directly to Brian Angiolet, senior vice president of consumer products and new business development.

Prior to Maker, McPherson was vice president/head of video programming and originals at Yahoo, where she grew the company’s original video roster to more than 80 ongoing series.

McPherson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and received her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Middlebury College.

COX COMMUNICATIONS
ANDREW ALBERT
SVP, Programming

Cox Communications senior vice president of programming Andrew Albert oversees all video provider relationships and content acquisition, and has led the MSO’s carriage negotiations with such content producers as The Walt Disney Co., Turner, NBCUniversal, Viacom and 21st Century Fox.

Albert is actively involved in setting Cox’s video product strategy, including the deployment of TV everywhere, video-on-demand and high-definition services, as well as the company’s multicultural programming strategy.

Albert joined Cox in 1995 as director of programming and was promoted to executive director of programming in 2002. The following year he was promoted to vice president. He has served in his current role since 2013.

Prior to joining Cox, Albert was director of programming and director of budgets and financial analysis for TeleCable in Norfolk, Va. Before that he was in the financial management program with General Electric, where he served as a sales and marketing analyst.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Suzanne Fenwick, vice president, content acquisition; Mark Gathen, vice president, content acquisition; Chris Tygh, vice president, content acquisition

ALTICE USA
MICHAEL SCHREIBER
EVP and Chief Content Officer

About one year after European telecom company Altice N.V. purchased Cablevision Systems, making it the fourth-largest U.S. cable operator, Altice USA debuted as a separate, publicly traded stock. With its new currency, executive vice president and chief content officer Michael Schreiber, who joined the company from Comcast in 2016, could have even more clout with programmers as the potential for additional industry consolidation increases.

Schreiber is up to the task. Shortly after Altice announced a corporate-wide rebranding, Schreiber and his team cut a new programming deal with Viacom that not only returned more than a dozen of its youth-oriented channels to Altice USA’s Suddenlink Communications unit after a two-year hiatus, but brought new advanced advertising capabilities to the U.S. operations.

Schreiber is responsible for all programming-related developments, negotiations and agreements covering all content platforms company-wide. In addition to the Viacom partnership, he has forged deals with major programmers and broadcasters across the Optimum and Suddenlink footprints.

Prior to joining Altice USA, Schreiber was senior vice president of content acquisition for Comcast, where he led the execution of new media and digital content deals. He was one of the lead negotiators of key programming agreements and renewals, and oversaw acquisition for platforms including VOD, TV everywhere, Streampix, Watchable and advanced advertising.

Before joining Comcast, Schreiber worked at NBCUniversal, most recently as vice president, business development, digital distribution. He also assisted in the founding, development and launch of Hulu.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Alan Dannenbaum, senior vice president, programming (a Comcast veteran); Bradley Fleisher, senior vice president, programming (a Time Warner Cable and NBCU veteran)

MEDIACOM COMMUNICATIONS
ITALIA COMMISSO WEINAND
EVP, Programming and Human Resources

Since joining Mediacom Communications as its third employee, Italia Commisso Weinand has worked alongside Rocco Commisso, her brother and fellow cable hall of famer, to build Mediacom into the nation’s fifth-largest cable operator, serving almost 1.4 million customers.

As the company embarked on a series of major acquisitions, Italia’s insight and experience allowed the company’s early operations, human resources, marketing and programming policies. Understanding that Mediacom needed to attract and retain an employee workforce of dedicated and proficient individuals, she developed a family-oriented corporate culture based on fairness, diversity and career growth.

It is a policy that has paid off, as Mediacom has grown from fewer than 20 employees in 1996 to more than 4,700 today.

Commisso Weinand began her 40-year cable career at Time Warner Cable in New York, and worked for Comcast immediately prior to becoming a founding member of Mediacom. Throughout her professional life, she has committed to numerous charitable causes, including Habitat for Humanity, Hope Through Care, Lake Drive School of the Deaf and the Knights of Columbus.

A Cable TV Pioneer, Commisso Weinand was named to the 2004 Wonder Women class by Multichannel News and Women in Cable Telecommunications. In addition to serving on Mediacom’s board, she is a board member for The Cable Center and The Emma L. Bowen Foundation and a past board member of Cable Positive and WICT.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Barry Paden, group vice president, programming; Joseph Appio, vice president, programming; John Woods, vice president, advanced consumer services; Glenn Goldsmith, consultant

WOW
ROGER SEIKEN
SVP, Programming Roger Seiken joined WOW in March following long-time programming chief Peter Smith’s retirement a few months earlier. Based in Denver, Seiken will manage content provider relationships and oversee all programming negotiations with cable networks and broadcasters.

Prior to joining WOW, Seiken spent more than 12 years at Verizon, where he led the business and legal affairs effort for content acquisition for Verizon’s Fios TV, mobile and digital video platforms. As an original member of the Fios TV team, he helped that business grow from a start-up video service to a top MVPD with more than 5 million subscribers.

Prior to Verizon, Seiken worked for Discovery Communications in both affiliate sales and legal affairs roles. Before that he practiced corporate and securities law at Hogan Lovells and at Fried, Frank in Washington, D.C.

KEY LIEUTENANTS: Robin Feller, director of programming; Jim Waechter, programming financial analyst

The MCN 2017 Gatekeepers: The Pendulum Swings Back|Dish’s Andrew LeCuyer: Starting the ‘Hard Conversation’|WOW’s Roger Seiken: ‘It Has to Be a Win-Win’|A Veteran Gatekeeper for a New Distributor

Italia Commisso Weinand has seen a lot in 40 years in the programming negotiation business. Through stints at Comcast, Tele-Communications Inc., Times-Mirror Cable and Time Warner Cable, and since 1996 at midsized cable operator Mediacom Communications, she has hammered out deals that have set the benchmark for both large and small operators.

But as programming deals have evolved from simple carriage agreements nailed down over the course of a dinner conversation to the complicated digital, mobile and on-demand rights tomes that can take months and sometimes years to work out, she has stuck to one basic tenet: Do the right thing. That goes for both sides of the negotiating table, Commisso Weinand said in an interview with Multichannel News. As deals get more complicated and programmers rely more and more on carriage fees to make up for advertising and viewership declines, that tenet becomes more important than ever.

For Commisso Weinand, doing the right thing doesn’t mean she wants programmers to acquiesce to her every demand. She has said for years that Mediacom is more than willing to pay fair prices for content. But she also insists that programmers realize she has a business to run and that programming talks should consider other constituencies besides the two sides at the negotiating table.

“It’s not about us; it truly is about the customer,” Commisso Weinand said, adding that larger companies sometimes lose that perspective, especially when dealing with operators the size of Mediacom.

“I’m the buyer, not the seller,” Commisso Weinand said. “When my staff gets mistreated because there is a big ownership group, and they’re so much more important and they’re so much bigger, that’s when it all breaks down. But we’re still around. Most of those people don’t have jobs today. The arrogance persists.”

Commisso Weinand is fiercely protective of her negotiating team, which with just four people — group vice president of programming Barry Paden, vice president of programming Joseph Appio, vice president of advanced consumer services John Woods and consultant Glenn Goldsmith — has hammered out countless deals and stuck together for 18 years.

That kind of longevity doesn’t necessarily mean they always agree, but it does mean that they can let their opinions be known, Commisso Weinand said: “I have smart people. They don’t always agree with me. We have arguments.”

Paden said that, during programming negotiations, the team has “very entertaining conversations, because we have three different points of view, but we get to a good place.”

To which Commisso Weinand added, “a good place for the company and for the customers.”

When it comes to broadband, Mediacom Communications is keeping the pedal to the metal.

The MSO announced Wednesday that it has deployed 1-Gig service in more than 1,000 U.S. communities following launches in Missouri and Kansas that span 82 communities and 253,000 homes and businesses passed.

It marks the latest step in Mediacom’s ambitious rollout of DOCSIS 3.1, a multi-gigabit platform that delivers multi-gig speeds over HFC networks, and complements its fiber-fed service for business customers.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

Mediacom upgraded its HFC network to D3.1 last year, and has also launched 1-Gig service in several other parts of its footprint, including northern Indiana; Illinois; Georgia; Minnesota; Huntsville, Ala.; southern Tennessee, and Iowa.

Early on, Mediacom has been selling a 1-Gig (downstream) service, paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, at $139.99 per month as a standalone, with a “promotional package offers” that will also be announced at a later date.  Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage). Mediacom has also been introducing a new 500 Mbps tier in its D3.1 markets.

RELATED: Mediacom Brings 1-Gig to Northern Indiana

“Since 1996, Mediacom has invested over $8 billion of private capital to acquire, upgrade and expand our national broadband network so that hard-working families throughout the smaller markets we serve receive the same advanced communications services as America’s largest cities,” Steve Purcell, group VP for Mediacom’s Capital Region, said in a statement. “As a result of these investments, we are extremely proud to be adding dozens of cities and towns that we serve in Missouri and Kansas to Mediacom’s rapidly expanding list of true gigabit communities.” 

Mediacom said Springfield Mayor Ken McClure was on hand to tour the MSO’s regional technology hub and issue a congratulatory proclamation citing his city’s status as Mediacom’s 1,000th community to become a “Gigabit City.”

“Springfield residents, like consumers elsewhere, rely on more connected-devices and have seen their internet data consumption grow by as much as thirty-five to fifty percent per year,” the proclamation stated.

Arris International said it has landed a deal to supply a hosted version of its carrier-class service provider WiFi platform to Mediacom Communications for a deployment that is already underway in almost a dozen communities

The Arris platform being used by Mediacom integrates products from partners that include Ruckus Wireless, Aptilo Networks and Benu Networks. The combo enables Mediacom to combine its wireless assets into a unified, centrally managed network, and support a single sign-on for roaming among WiFi hotspots.

RELATED: Arris Puts Up $800M for Ruckus Wireless, ICX Switch Biz

Mediacom is deploying the out-of-home WiFi network to extend access at small-business locations, as well as venues and markets spanning hospitality and education, among others.

A Mediacom spokesman said deployments are underway in Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Silvis, Ill; Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa; Savage, Minn.; and Valdosta, Ga.  

Of recent note, Mediacom made its WiFi service available to the public last weekend during the PGA’s John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, and supported more than 17,000 unique users on the service during the tournament.

Mediacom has not identified the next group of cities where it will deploy its WiFi network, but acknowledged that its “ultimate goal” is to join the Cable WiFi roaming consortium as it looks to expand into more markets. MSOs involved in the WiFi roaming group currently include Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, and Altice USA.

"ARRIS's Wi-Fi technology and expertise is enabling us to address the demand for carrier-grade wireless services in our key markets," JR Walden, SVP technology and CTO at Mediacom, said in a statement. "By hosting this solution for us, ARRIS is giving Mediacom the freedom to scale to new customers and services at our own pace, without having to make big investments in new infrastructure."

Mediacom Communications said Thursday that it has reached a carriage agreement with global news network i24 News.

Owned by European telecom company Altice N.V., i24 News has major studio hubs in the U.S., Israel and Europe and offers local and international news with a special focus on the Middle East. The network launched in the U.S. in February with Altice USA, Altice N.V.’s domestic cable operation.   

“Mediacom has always sought to offer a diverse menu of high-quality content in the markets we serve,” said Mediacom senior vice president of field operations Ed Pardini in a statement “We are excited to be able to provide our customers with access to news and information from the global viewpoint of i24NEWS.” 

Package and channel location information for i24NEWS is being announced locally on a market-by-market basis as the network is launched.

“We are very pleased to provide Mediacom customers with a new destination for unique content that features localized news infused with the global conversation that consumers cannot watch anywhere else,” i24News CEO Frank Melloul said in a statement. “We look forward to our partnership with Mediacom and to becoming the go-to source for news and current events analysis for its viewers.” 

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the country with about 1.4 million customer relationships mainly in the Midwest and Southeast.  

Mediacom Communications launched improvements to its low-cost high-speed internet service for low-income customers Wednesday, offering 10 Mbps download ad 1 Mbps upload speeds for $9.95 per month.

The service, Connect2Compete, is offered in partnership with national non-profit EveryoneOne and will be available to students and families that qualify for the National School Lunch Program. The service includes the lease of a Wi-Fi enabled modem at no additional charge.

Previously, C2C was only available in a limited number of Mediacom markets at download speeds of 1.5 Mbps and upload speeds of 512 Kbps. Beginning today (June 14) the new and improved C2C offering will be available across Mediacom’s entire 3-million-home broadband footprint.

“The internet has become an essential communications and learning tool for educators, students and parents,” said Mediacom Lincoln Region Group Vice President Todd Curtis in a statement. “By launching the Connect2Compete program in Southern Illinois, we hope to make internet access available to more families by lowering the cost of entry for those most at-risk of being left behind in today’s digital world.”  

Nearly half of the households in the U.S. with incomes below $30,000 per year lack access to broadband services at home, according to the Pew Research Center. In contrast, 94% of American households earning $100,000 or more a year have home broadband service.

“Addressing digital inclusion is a priority. We must ensure all residents have the capability to empower their lives through digital technology” said Carbondale, Ill. Economic development director Steven Mitchell in a statement “The Connect2Compete initiative launched by Mediacom in partnership with EveryoneOn attacks this issue head on by offering low-income families with school age children an affordable internet service option.”

For more information about Mediacom’s Connect2Compete program or to apply, visit http://www.mediacomc2c.com/.

Mediacom Communications said it has begun to offer 1-Gig speeds to residential and business customers in Illinois as the MSO proceeds with its ambitious DOCSIS 3.1 rollout.

Mediacom said it has launched the service to more than 275 small cities and downs in the state passed by its HFC network, with another 70 communities to be added to the list over the next two months.

Mediacom upgraded its network to D3.1 last year and is now in the process of launching services that take advantage of the multi-gig-capable platform for HFC networks and eventually reach 3 million homes and businesses in its 22 state footprint. Mediacom has pushed ahead with 1-Gig launches in parts of Georgia, Minnesota, Huntsville, Ala., southern Tennessee, and Iowa.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

In all, Mediacom said it has deployed 1 Gig  services to more than 800 communities. It’s also introducing a new 500 Mbps tier of service in those markets.

In its initial D3.1 launch markets, Mediacom has been selling a 1-Gig (downstream) service, paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, at $139.99 per month as a standalone, with a “promotional package offers” that will also be announced at a later date.  Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage).

“Since 1996, Mediacom has invested over $8 billion of private capital to acquire, upgrade and expand our national broadband network so that hard-working families throughout the smaller markets we serve receive the same advanced communications services as America’s largest cities,” Todd Curtis, group vice president for Mediacom’s Lincoln Region, said in a statement.  “As a result of these investments, Mediacom will be able to offer 1 Gig Internet services to over 400,000 Illinois households and position hundreds of rural communities across the Land of Lincoln at the forefront of America’s transition into the gigabit era.”

Mediacom Communications lost about 3,000 basic video customers in the first quarter, but gains in its high-speed data and telephone businesses helped push revenue and cash flow up in the period.

Mediacom ended the quarter with 832,000 basic video subscribers, but added 17,000 high-speed data customers and 15,000 phone customers. That helped drive revenue to $462.7 million for the period (up 4%) and operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) up 3.7% to $175.3 million.

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the United States, servicing customers primarily in small markets in the Midwest and Southeast.

Mediacom Communications said it has launched 1-Gig service across its Georgia network footprint, with the DOCSIS 3.1-based offering now available to about 275,000 homes passed there.

The rollout follows similar, recent launches in parts of Minnesota; Huntsville, Ala; portions of southern Tennessee, and Mediacom's network footprint in Iowa.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

Mediacom upgraded its network to D3.1 last year and is now in the process of launching services that take advantage of the multi-gig-capable platform for HFC networks and eventually reach 3 million homes and businesses in its 22 state footprint.

Mediacom said it has launched 1-Gig to more than 600 communities and will add more throughout the year as more D3.1 modems become available.

In its initial D3.1 launch markets, Mediacom has been selling a 1-Gig (downstream) service, paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, at $139.99 per month as a standalone, with a “promotional package offers” that will also be announced at a later date.  Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage).

Mediacom has also been launching a new 500 Mbps tier of service where it’s introducing the 1-Gig product.

“Today, we live in a world that is driven by technology,” said State Representative Ed Rynders, Chairman of the House Governmental Affairs Committee in the Georgia General Assembly, in a statement. “Speed matters in our global economy, and the investments Mediacom has made to make ultra-fast broadband available to more than a quarter million homes in southwest Georgia provides a huge economic advantage to our citizens.” 

Mediacom Communications said it has launched DOCSIS 3.1-fueled 1 Gbps broadband service across its Huntsville, Ala., service footprint and other areas where it serves residential and business customers in the northern part of the state and in southern Tennessee.

In addition to Huntsville, today’s launch also includes Madison County and Limestone County, Ala., and Giles County and Lincoln County, Tenn.

Huntsville continues to be a gigabit hotbed. Comcast announced this week that it plans to offer 1-Gig broadband there later this year using DOCSIS 3.1. Huntsville  is also home to  some fiber-based gigabit services from AT&T and from a local municipality that is teaming up with Google Fiber and other partners. 

The latest service launch follows last month’s launch of 1-Gig service across its Iowa footprint, and its announcement late last year 2016 that Mediacom would upgrade its network to D3.1 by the end of 2016.

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

Last month, Mediacom said its 1-Gig (downstream) service,  paired with upstream speeds up to 50 Mbps, is priced at $139.99 per month as a standalone, along with “promotional package offers” that will also be announced at a later date.  Along with 1-Gig, Mediacom is also introducing a new 500 Mbps broadband service.

Mediacom’s DOCSIS 3.1-based 1-Gig offering comes with a monthly data limit of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage). 

Mediacom’s plan is to bring gigabit broadband services to “virtually all” of the 3 million homes and businesses served in its 22 state footprint. So far, Mediacom has launched 1 Gbps service to more than 350 communities.

“In addition to enhancing speeds for residential and small business customers today, the Gigasphere platform we have deployed also lays the groundwork for offering multi-Gig services in the future,” Mediacom CTO JR Walden said, in a statement. “This next generation technology is an excellent complement to the Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions that Mediacom Business has been offering local businesses in our markets for many years.” 

Mediacom Communications is following through with its big commitment to deploy DOCSIS 3.1 with the debut of a 1 Gbps broadband service that’s initially available across the MSO’s Iowa footprint, which covers nearly 1 million homes and spans about 300 communities.

A Mediacom official said pricing on the 1-Gig (downstream) service will be $139.99 per month as a standalone, along with “promotional package offers” that will also be made available later.

The new service, which is paired with an upstream that maxes out at 50 Mbps, is also outfitted with a monthly data usage allowance of 6 terabytes before overage charges are applied ($10 for each additional bucket of 50 GB of usage). Mediacom is relying on D3.1-based network equipment from Cisco Systems and Casa Systems, and is using multiple modem vendors that have not yet been announced. JR Walden, Mediacom’s CTO, noted in the announcement that the DOCSIS 3.1-based offering complements the company’s fiber-based gigabit service for businesses. 

The service launch in Iowa follows Mediacom’s announcement in December 2016 that it would upgrade its network to D3.1 by the end of 2016, paving the way for speed tiers that deliver up to 1 Gbps, and a new service tier that delivers up to 500 Mbps. Before D3.1 technology was developed, Mediacom has also been using DOCSIS 3.0 for a residential 1-Gig service in some markets. 

RELATED: Mediacom Goes Big With DOCSIS 3.1

Mediacom hasn’t announced where it will launch the new, speedier services next, but noted that it will be expanding it on a market-by-market basis throughout 2017.

RELATED: Comcast Sets DOCSIS 3.1 Expansion, Launches 1-Gig in Detroit

“Since 1999, Mediacom has invested $3 billion of private capital in Iowa to ensure that hard-working families throughout the Hawkeye State receive the same advanced communications services as America’s largest cities,” Mediacom founder and CEO Rocco B. Commisso said in a statement. “As a result of these investments, I am extremely proud to announce that Iowa is not only Mediacom’s first gigabit state, but now leads all U.S. states in gigabit broadband availability.”

“I launched Connect Iowa nearly five years ago with the goal of making Iowa the most connected state for broadband in the Midwest,” added Governor Terry Branstad. “Today’s announcement by Mediacom means that over three quarters of the homes in our state now have access to world-class internet speeds, and that Iowa is positioned at the forefront of America’s transition into the gigabit era.” 

“In today’s global marketplace, access to ultra-fast broadband services is critical to ensuring sustainable economic growth within our rural communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds. “The fact that Mediacom is making gigabit speeds available throughout its entire Iowa service area puts hundreds of small towns across our state on the cutting edge of broadband technology.”