Also: TW Cable packs on business services muscle; TiVo's Comcast universe expands; ThinkAnalytics does Mediaroom

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

October 3, 2012

2 Min Read
Comcast Gets Closer to a Clearwire Sell-Off

Welcome to the broadband and cable news roundup, Hump Day edition.

  • Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) has converted its holdings in Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) into commonly traded shares, but hasn't said if it will sell its stake in the WiMax specialist, reports Dow Jones & Company, citing a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Comcast paid $1.05 billion for its 6 percent stake and still owns 88.5 million Clearwire shares. Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), another erstwhile Clearwire partner, announced plans to sell its 7.8 stake in the wireless broadband company last month. The moves come more than a month after Comcast, TW Cable, along with Bright House Networks and Cox Communications Inc. , received government approval to sell their advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum to Verizon Wireless . (See TW Cable to Dump Clearwire Stake, Cable OK to Attack FiOS With Verizon Wireless, Wait for It! Verizon 4G Deal Still Needs FCC OK and FCC OKs Verizon's Spectrum Buys.)

  • Time Warner Cable has beefed up its business services executive lineup with the appointments of Greg King to SVP of business services product and strategy; and Stephanie Anderson to SVP, marketing for business services. King joined the company as group VP of business services strategy in 2010 and helped oversee the acquisition and integration of NaviSite, while Anderson was previously with Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) Both will report to TW Cable EVP of Business Services Gerry Campbell. Based on its current run rate, TW Cable should pull in more than $1.7 billion in business services revenues in 2012. It currently serves about 450,000 business customers.

  • TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) has posted a lineup of Comcast markets where the vendor's retail DVRs have been integrated with the operator's video-on-demand service: Colorado; Fresno, Santa Barbara and San Francisco, Calif.; Minnesota; New England/Boston; Portland, Ore.; Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Olathe, Kan. Hat tip: @TechWzrd. (See Comcast, TiVo Blaze Different Set-Top Paths.)

  • Charter Communications Inc. CEO Tom Rutledge said several incentives, including a $6.5 million low-interest loan, helped to persuade the operator to move its corporate headquarters to Stamford, Conn., reports Multichannel News, noting that the venue's access to the financial community also factored into the decision. (See Charter Makes Its Move .)

  • ThinkAnalytics Ltd. said its recommendations engine has joined the Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) Mediaroom IPTV partner program. More than 40 TV operators, including AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) and Telus Corp. (NYSE: TU; Toronto: T), use Mediaroom. ThinkAnalytics says more than 25 service providers have deployed its engine, including Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY), Sky and Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED). (See Brits Rev Up Recommendation Engine.)

    — Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable

About the Author(s)

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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