Time Warner Cable to Buy Insight for $3 Billion

The only way they can keep customers right now is to buy them...

They kept me as a customer (for now) when they finally flipped the switch on D3. I was about to switch to WOW cable, but TW's D3 beat the stuffing out of WOW's D1/D2 offerings.

However, WOW may be rolling out D3 packages in the near future (maybe before the end of the year?) so I will have to revisit this decision soon.

Time Warner remains the only major uncapped cable ISP at this time in the United States and as such they've been gaining broadband customers like crazy in markets where they compete with AT&T.

Time Warner has no problem retaining customers in AT&Trash markets.

uhhh Verizon is not capped and they're probably larger or similarly sized. Time Warner has even had capping trials.

Note how I said AT&Trash and cable ISP, not fiber ISP.

Of course Time Warner's going to get their ass handed to them in Verizon FiOS markets, and rightly so. But in AT&T markets, they're the clear winner... as long as they don't start trying that bandwidth capping bullshit again...

VZ has no caps that's because they sell tv+cable bundled cheap and take customers away from cable ISPs. Plus their vod offering is competitive.

And just because they don't cap doesn't mean they don't have "fair use policy".

They don't cap or exercise a "fair use policy."

You can use a FiOS connection maxed out 24/7 with no complaints.

U cant run servers for business (paid enterprise) on residential account. If they see that they will likely ask u to upgrade to business class and pay morr.

Bolded for emphasis.

VZ is ALSO DSL. - COPPER just like T.

Yep, your right Xizer.

Is this another deal that the FCC & the DOJ will have to approve for it to go forward? Consolidation in the cable TV / broadband market gets more & more year by year.
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nope. Not large enough. And Insight Columbus already uses RoadRunner's backbone for Internet: insight.rr.com the only thing TWC has to do really is connect to 2 systems and BOOM! Those customers already call RR for support as well. So nothing new.

Say hello to price increases former Insight customers. And TWC customers too.

correction its 4000 per subcriber i belive since they got it for reduced price of 3 billion

ether-way its a bit to much even at reduced price in my opinion (this will likely mean time warner wont but any charter assets anytime soon though since the debt they take on will make it harder to fund any more buy outs )

$3-$5k seems about right, provided it is a good "FIT" for what TWC needs.. Although I don't think they should be taking on more customers right now, as they WILL be seeing much more competition from Verizon in NYC and that'll require more money being spent on DOCSIS 3 node splitting next year. Cablevision already spent lots of money on node splitting in Brooklyn only to suffer a slide in customer base. Apparently PRICE AND UPLOAD SPEED matters too..

At some point (2012?) TWC will have to put up or shut up in Manhattan whence Verizon crawls beyond the *RICH* areas...

The price is going to go up per subscriber, because I will no longer be a subscriber.

You have a point. TWC in Insight areas will be competing with mostly AT&T and Windstream. Windstream tops out at 24/3 in its FTTH areas, though 4 Mbps uploads will come via VDSL soonish. AT&T U-Verse tops out at 24/3. TWC 50/5 (which Insight already offers) will have the edge over both AT&T and Windstream, and they can upgrade 30/3 customers to 30/5, and 20/1.5 to 20/2. Clean transition, and TWC comes out on top of the telcos, which is nice when you compare to where they're fighting with FiOS (or Greenlight, or Fibrant) elsewhere.

They already have in a way by buying Part of New Wave Communications in KY, and TN. If im not mistaken all of the New Wave communication systems in KY, and TN were charter until new wave bought them out.

And say goodbye to clear QAM (digital) expanded basic service ...

In Lexington, we don't have clear QAM expanded basic. We have to use a digital mini-box, unlike Louisville and Bowling Green (I think). I was hoping with new owners we could lose those.

$4k per customer seems to be the benchmark for buying cable/telephone companies these days. The purchase will pay off in five years, and life will go on.

Damn, I'm one of those Insight customers. I am so ticked off right now. I feel betrayed. "We're local, we live here too" blah blah blah

Title says it all... You want to talk about a VERY BAD cable company that needs to be acquired they are it.

Finally! I can't wait at least Time warner will make improvements to the Insight system in columbus. Insight has always been behind in Columbus compaired to their other markets (such as lower data speeds).. Time Warner (which serves the other half of columbus) currently offers Wideband (50MB down) internet... Will be happy to see that offered finally in the insight area once TW takes over and updates.

Actually, after learning I was mistaken and that TW had rolled out DOCSIS3 here, I did some digging, and Insight was planning for the same thing by end of summer, so in fact as usual, they're basically offering the same services, just slightly delayed (and hey, there's something to be said for working the kinks out on TW's territory first).

I don't relish this at all. TW has a much worse reputation than Insight does *now* (I can't deny Insight used to be much worse), they force Tivo users like me to deal with buggy tuning adapters, and their prices are higher. I don't see the win here.

I used to be a Time Warner subscriber until we bought a house in the Huber Ridge area. I have to say, I'm extremely happy about this as I have missed access to the sports packages (MLB Extra Innings and NHL Center Ice). Here's hoping it doesn't take too long to receive the same services as other Time Warner subscribers.

Well the only good memory I have of Inisght was when I lived in Reynoldsburg (2002-2004) they constantly gave me 'credits' on my bills each month because they refused to fix a latency/packet loss issue I was having with their internet service.. they felt it was easier to just credit me.

I had TW in Dublin from 2007-2009 and didn't ever have any issues.

I used to have terribly service from them, but in my current house, I've been very happy with the service and with their customer service by phone. So pigs really do fly occasionally.

Just as long as they either do away with, or drasticaly overhall both the staff and look of Insight's office on Livingston Ave, the old betties down there have the LARGEST attitude when doing ANYTHING.

What conserns me the most is Insight used Motorolla equiptment, and to my knoledge TWC here uses SA/Cisco, just like WOW! So will it be a 1 for 1 exchange for Insight to TWC hardware, or will it be keep it as is, and just flash with TWC software (which poses the other issue that a SW flash that drastic will for shure erase anything on the DVR as it will be going from iGuide to Navigator software.

Also TWC's Multiroom DVR only has 2 tuners, vs Insight's POS Multi-Room while supper buggy had 6 tuners.

Not good news if you like the HDNets and NFL Network.

That's what I was thinking when I first head about this. Hopefully, we won't lose them just because TWC doesn't have them, kinda stupid to lose channels you already have.

Might actualy help TWC subs get it, as there will be a existing agreement, just need to up the number of subs.

I was just telling my fiance yesterday how impressed I am that Insight has managed to remain the cheapest cable internet/tv provider around. They offer good customer service too (at least where I live).

Good bye to another good thing I guess, as it goes big corporate.

no one saw this coming?

after WOW and outhers were turned off at the high price, i was wondering if TWC would come back asking for a discount, as Insight then would be a lil desperate.

I ditched cable for satellite last year. However, I just switched my internet and phone from WOW to Insight because of their faster speeds. Really not lookinig forward to changing my email address again. Maybe TW will keep the insightbb domain and save us all a load of trouble.

THAT'S why you NEVER use your ISP's e-mail & use something like gmail or yahoo; then you don't have to keep going through this...

dream on - see above...

I wish I was an Insight customer just so I could cancel when TW takes over

I am an Insight customer and if I cancel when we get TWC who do I go to? I can't get ATT uverse yet and I don't want Dish or Direct TV.

Cincinnati Bell is rolling out Fioptics but only in limited areas in the Northern KY area. I am having bad feelings about this buyout. The customer is not going to reap the benefits for it when TWC raises everyones rates.

At least it puts to rest repeated rumors of TWC and Cablevision merging.. for another year..

How long will it take for time warner and comcast to do some sort of agreement? Maybe not a merger per say but an agreement where they sign agreements with networks as one entity thus lowering the rate the networks charge. Also would be a good idea on the hardware front too as they can buy more hardware together and collaborate on new projects.
Like I said I'm not looking for a merger just some sort of collaboration between the two on different fronts.

They already collaborate on many tech issues

TeleCable to Insight to TWC here in Lexington KY. All I can say is good riddance to Insight and their subcontractor Bowlin Services. I hope TWC drops Bowlin (crooks) when they take over. Offerings and pricing are likely to stay the same. But, I sure hope the service and customer satisfaction improves after the takeover.

Insight subscribers can kiss NFL Network goodbye, but will gain MLB Network, NBA TV and NHL Network that they don't have.

As for HD offerings, TWC should manage to increase them with their carriage agreements, and most major Insight areas are all-digital already, which should provide enough bandwidth to increase the offerings, already leaving much of Insight well-ahead of TWC's planned all-digital transition.

I worked in the cable biz from 1997 until late last year. During that time I held positions on both sides of the distribution machine (cable network and cable company). I've worked with just about every cable and satellite company out there and can say with a good degree of confidence that none of them are super stars (FIOS included). You could do a lot worse than Time Warner Cable, believe me (and, no, I am not now nor have I ever been a TW employee).

Here in Los Angeles, we went from the slag heap of MediaOne to the corrupt slag heap of Adelphia and then to Comcast which basically did nothing to improve the cable plant or product offerings. To be fair, Time Warner was handed a massive pile of twisted crap. Did they do a great job at first? Hell no! After a near melt down (and some house cleaning in the local management ranks), the cable company spent the past two years overhauling and rebuilding their entire operation. While I can't vouch for every TW market, in Los Angeles the company is vastly different than the train wreck that blew into town in 2006.

One final note, specific to the NFL Network. While I spent most of my cable career on the network side of the business and am often quick to blame cable and satellite companies when a channel is dropped or not carried, this is one of those exceptions. The NFL Network need look no further than it's pricing, negotiation and marketing practices to figure out why both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision refuse to sign a carriage agreement. Of course, that would require both introspective leadership and a grasp on reality, two things the NFL has in short supply. The network has value to be sure but by no means is it a powerhouse "must carry" like ESPN and it is certainly not worth the money they are asking affiliates to fork over ($0.81 per subscriber, which is insane). The recent NFL Sunday Ticket promotion with DirecTV has also become an issue. Not only did it piss off Time Warner and Cablevision, Comcast has filed a lawsuit against DirecTV claiming the ads are false and misleading. It's ham-handed, cloddish moves like these that continue to make carriage on TW and Cablevision an elusive dream.