Comcast: landmarks

landmarks

This chronology is indicative only.

Context is provided by the broader communications and media timeline on this site.

beginnings

1963 American Cable Systems founded by Ralph Roberts, Daniel Aaron and Julian Brodsky

1963 buys 1,200-subscriber cable system in Tupelo

1969 renamed Comcast Corporation and incorporated in Pennsylvania

1972 first public stock offering, stock traded on the NASDAQ

1974 Gerry Lenfest starts Lenfest Communications by buying cable tv units from Walter Annenberg

1986 Comcast doubles in size to 1.2 million subscribers through purchase of 26% of Westinghouse's Group W Cable operations

1986 Comcast takes stake in Barry Diller's QVC

1988 buys 50% of Storer Communications from KKR, increasing number of subscribers to over 2 million and making Comcast US fifth largest cable operator

1988 enters mobile telecommunications market by buying American Cellular Network Corporation (AMCELL) in New Jersey and Delaware

1992 buys Metrophone, tripling mobile coverage to 7 million

1993 Lenfest onsells Australian pay television licences

1994 Comcast buys Maclean Hunter's US cable interests to add 550,000 customers and become third largest US cable operator with approximately 3.3 million customers

1995 buys 57% stake in QVC and assumed management of the world's leading electronic retailer.

1995 buys EW Scripps cable systems, adding 800,000 subscribers and bringing Comcast's customer total to 4.3 million

1996 Lenfest and Packer take up $US75m of the Australis pay tv bond issue

1996 Comcast forms Comcast-Spectacor, a sports venture owning and operating the NHL Philadelphia Flyers, NBA Philadelphia 76ers, First Union Spectrum and the First Union Center

1996 forms Comcast SportsNet regional sports channel

1997 Microsoft invests $1bn in Comcast

1997 Comcast takes 40% stake in E! Entertainment in a partnership with Disney

1998 Australis goes into receivership

1998 Comcast buys Jones Intercable for 1.1 million additional customers.

1998 buys 406,000 subscribers from Prime Communications

1998 sells Comcast UK Cable Partners to NTL

1999 Comcast Cellular sold to SBC Communications for US$1.7 billion

1999 buys Greater Philadelphia Cablevision,with 79,000 cable customers in Philadelphia

1999 Comcast and MediaOne announce but don't proceed with US$60 billion merger (Comcast receives US $1.5 billion settlement and agreement to acquire 2 million AT&T subscribers)

1999 Comcast Interactive Capital Group established for technology and internet investments

2000 Comcast completes acquisition of Lenfest Communications, adding approximately 1.3 million cable subscribers

2000 Comcast completes cable system swaps with Adelphia and AT&T, gaining Adelphia customers in Florida, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico and Pennsylvania and AT&T customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan and Washington, D.C.

2001 buys Home Team Sports, later combined with Comcast SportsNet as Comcast Regional Sports Television

2001 buys AT&T cable systems in six states adding 595,000 customers

2001 acquires option to purchase Outdoor Life Network from Murdoch's Fox Cable Networks

2001 buys controlling interest in The Golf Channel

2001 buys 115,000 AT&T subscribers in Baltimore

2001 makes US$44.5 billion stock bid for AT&T's broadband arm

2002 takeover of AT&T Broadband (cable tv assets) completed for value US$47.5bn

2003 sells remaining 57% of QVC to Liberty for US$7.9bn

2004 makes unsuccessful US$54bn hostile takeover bid for Disney

2004 forms TV One in partnership with Radio One

2005 buys remaining 70% of Susquehanna Communications (cable tv and broadband) from Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff for US$540m

2006 together with Time Warner Cable buys assets of bankrupt Adelphia

2006 Time Warner Cable redeems Comcast's 17.9% interest in Time Warner Cable Inc

2006 Time Warner Entertainment (TWE) redeems Comcast's 4.7% interest in TWE

2007 Comcast agrees to buy online movie ticketing service Fandango (agent for over 1,300 US theatres)

2007 pays Rainbow Media Holdings (Cablevision) US$570m for remaining 60% interest in FSN Bay Area and 50% interest in FSN New England regional cable sports networks

2008 agrees to buy Plaxo

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