By Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 9/23/2003 4:56:00 PM
Adelphia Communications Corp. said it has reached an agreement to take operational control of about 144,000 subscribers in five states that were part of a joint venture.
The MSO said Wednesday that it will take over day-to-day operations for systems in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia from Tele-Media Corp. Although Adelphia owns a majority stake in the systems, Tele-Media operated them through a management contract that recently expired.
Adelphia said it decided to take control of the systems to improve operational efficiency and to provide additional products and services.
"The decision to become more involved in the operation of the Tele-Media systems reflects an ongoing review of all Adelphia operations and business activities being conducted by our new management team in Denver," Adelphia president and chief operating officer Ron Cooper said in a statement.
"We wish to commend Tele-Media and its employees on the job they have done running these systems, but by bringing these systems under our direct management, we can improve operating performance, technology and marketing, while adding scale and realizing cost savings at the same time," he added.
Those cost savings will likely come in the form of some management positions being eliminated at the Tele-Media systems as they are folded into Adelphia’s regional structure.
Adelphia said it expects the transition to be completed in early 2004. The systems will still carry the Tele-Media name, and "nearly all" of the 290 Tele-Media employees currently working at the systems -- save for some of the aforementioned management positions -- will be retained.
Adelphia also said the rebuild schedule for these systems will likely be accelerated, but it gave no specifics. The MSO plans to have 95% of its systems upgraded to 750-megahertz, two-way capacity by mid-2004.
The properties involved are located in Seymour and Waterbury, Conn.; Frostburg and Hancock, Md.; Augusta Shanks, Springfield and Keyser, W. Va.; Petersburg and Hopewell-Prince George, Va.; and Wynmoor, Pembroke Pines, Miramar and Centura Parc, Fla.
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