Had you told us one year ago that Insight Communications would be our MSO of the Year we would have laughed, probably not politely.

Insight was supposed to be history by now, gobbled up by Time Warner Cable, Jerry Kent or perhaps a private equity firm. President Dinni Jain would be running another company at this point. CEO Michael Willner likely would be slipping into early retirement, cruising off Bora Bora.

Who knew in this improbable summer in which an African-American candidate would be a presidential contender and the Rays of Tampa Bay would own baseball’s best record on July 4 that Jain would have Insight setting records and Willner would be busier than ever? (The likable Willner is preparing to co-chair The Cable Show ’09, The Kaitz Dinner and be inducted into cable’s Hall of Fame. Does the man ever say no?)

The Insight story has been told before. Here’s a quick version. At the end of 2002, when Jain joined Insight as CFO after years in the U.K. cable industry, it was a jolt. "When I came here, no offense intended...but I was shocked that everyone was smiling all the time. Every time I’d be in a room with other MSOs someone would be handing someone else an award." Based on the numbers, he "wondered why." Churn was "three times higher than what I was used to...[in England]." Customer service "was terrible, but everyone was smiling."


Spotted here