 RickPremium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT | I wonder why Insight didn't buy them out and retain these customers?
As a former Insight customer for many years while living in Cols. Ohio, I was always impressed with the company, their products and service. They always seemed to me to be on the forefront of rolling out the latest and greatest service, whatever that may be.
As a businessman myself however very acquainted with working with growth companies and competing very aggressively in the marketplace I've often felt that the company left a lot of opportunities on the table during the last 10 years when so much was happening in this industry.
They somehow struck me as being too content to just operate as a mom and pop cable company with little to no ambition to grow into the kinds of enterprise that they could have. And meanwhile, the giants of the industry today, namely Time Warner and Comcast, have just run them over and continue to do so today.
I think that there is a certain mindset here at work. Most of my career before becoming a semi retired computer geek  was in management in the Financial services sector and specifically, the banking industry and there has long been a very aggressive competitive mindset that just caused me to always operate from a position of you had to get bigger, grow stronger, and simply do things better than the next guy in order to survive and then make it in that industry. 10 years with what is now CitiGroup during their primary building phase certainly taught me how that goes.
Sorry to say, but my view in years past of this industry hasn't included that, but has rather been one of them being too content in just being who they were and not aspiring to more.
My interest and love of this industry and namely all things computer and broadband related has had me sitting on the sidelines looking at them from a customer viewpoint in the past, but yet I couldn't help but to somehow apply the aggressive company building mentality I'd been so used to for years and say to myself, WHY..isn't this company making a BIG move on what is SURE to be something so big?
Instead, it's others who are and have done it. Namely Comcast..and Time Warner. But still, even with them, it's as if they just learned their real potential only in the last couple of years. And before that, were just too busy thinking small and being just a "cable company".
But, to not seem too harsh on them, I also think there's a lot of benefit to being a private company, as they are now, and out of the public company rat race mentality.
And, there's certainly nothing wrong with being a "mom and pop" company either. But you can't let that consume you these days either though, and stop growing.
Because sooner or later you're going to get eaten up being just that.
Anyways..just my .02cents worth. As a former customer and outsider. I do think that this company is one that is very good, but that could be more than it is today.
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The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic! |
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| Rick, do you think the columbus,oh market will get bought by twc after all of this, since we are using "their" road runner, for HSI. Since as im shure your familiar with, TWC is the "major" player here, with insight covering areas were TWC isent at, and ofd course WOW is everywhere do to being the former americast from ameritech. |
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| I live in the Insight service area in Columbus (though I have DirecTV & DSL). Considering there is no overlap between TWC & Insight, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that TWC is buying the Columbus market from Insight. I'd expect for it to happen before the end of the year. |
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Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | reply to Rick
IMHO it's probably because the the Carlyle Group wants to sell off the rest of Insight for a fat profit. |
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RickPremium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT | reply to RIRWIN1983
I really wouldn't expect Insight in Columbus to sell out to TW unless for whatever reason, they decided to sell the whole company. I wouldn't be surprised if they receive an offer from time to time to do just that as these major players look to expand.
It wasn't all that long ago however that insight went private. They used to be a publicly traded company but management and I believe an investment group wound up taking them private. And so, I guess if the offer was right they might be agreeable to sell but there's nothing to indicate right now that is the case.
BTW..it's my understanding that the reason they use the RR name and branding is because TW was there first with cable broadband and built the name..spending a lot of money in the process. Insight felt it was worthwhile to ride off that success and paid TW for the rights to use the name also. Apparently Insight continues to feel it's worth it to them to continue to do this. Personally though, I'd have to question the value of it.
Anyways..hi to everyone back in Cols..and Go bucks. 
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The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic! |
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RickPremium,MVM
join:2001-02-06
Waterbury, CT | reply to Sammer
said by Sammer:IMHO it's probably because the the Carlyle Group wants to sell off the rest of Insight for a fat profit. You might be right. I guess everyone has a price and based on recent cable co's deals like Adelphia to TW/Comcast, that price is pretty enticing right now.
But, companies like Insight also have a lot of opportunity for growth ahead to increase revenues as well. Not only is there a lot of homes they pass that they don't yet serve, but many people still don't subscribe to more than one service with them.
If they could do a better job selling to those who don't yet take their service where their lines pass the homes anyway..in addition to getting more people on triple play phone..cable..HSI packages..the price that companies are paying today might still be quite low.
I think if I was insight management, I'd first maximize that before considering selling the company as a whole.
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The Coyote captured the RR! Roadrunner Rick is now Comcastic! |
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| Will Insight sell the Kentucky, southern Indiana and Ohio markets to Time Warner or someone else soon?
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low cost and fast speed is what customers want in broadband |
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as we had previously discussed elsewhere rick (re:the rr name) i think if insight offered diffrent tiers of hsiv they could maybe beg more people to signup. and BTW anyone that has the HDDVR in the columbus market, but dont have the hd pack, call in and ask for the HD Track, i had a tech out the outher day and he noticed that we dident have that it was part of having the hddvr, and cost 0.00 and called in and had it added. |
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