Comcast, abbreviated as CMCSA, is a major US cable television, broadband Internet and IP telephony service provider headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With 24.6 million cable television subscribers, 14.4 million broadband Internet subscribers and 5.6 million IP telephony subscribers, Comcast is the largest cable television company in the United States. Comcast is also the second largest Internet service provider in the United States, after AT&T.
Founded in 1963 by Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky in Tupelo, Lee County, Mississippi, the company was initially known as American Cable Systems, providing cable television service to the city with only 1,200 subscribers. Over the years, the company bid for cable service franchises in Mississippi and nearby areas of Pennsylvania to increase the number of subscribers, and in 1969 established Comcast Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1986 Comcast doubles in size by acquiring 25% of Group W Cable stock.
1988 Comcast buys 50% of Storer Communications Inc stock, increasing its subscriber base to 2 million, making it the 5th largest cable operator in the country, and in the same year, acquires American Cellular Network Corporate, entering the cellular sector with a network covering New Jersey, Wyoming, Delaware and other states. In the same year, Comcast acquires American Cellular Network Corporate and enters the cellular arena.
1990 Comcast acquires MetroPhone and in the same year Brian L. Roberts, son of Ralph J. Roberts, takes over the business.
1992 Comcast merges the assets of AMCELL and grows its subscriber base to 7 million.
1994 Comcast acquires the US portion of Maclean-Hunter's, adding 550,000 subscribers and leaping to become the third largest cable operator. The same year Comcast UK goes public and Comcast begins investing in the Golf Channel.
1995 Comcast buys a 57% stake in QVC and acquires E.W. Scripps Cable that same year, adding 800,000 subscribers.
In 1996, Comcast began to look at high-speed networks, joining Tele-Communications and Cox Communications to form @Home Cable Modem Services, a move that gave cable broadband service a head start on the telephone companies' DSL (digital subscriber line) service. In the same year, Comcast made its first broadband deployment in Baltimore, Sarasota, and in the same year Comcast formed Comcast-Spector to invest in sports, owning the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers of Major League Hockey.
In 1997 Microsoft invested $1 billion in Comcast and partnered with Disney to take control of the Entertainmen.
Comcast acquires Jones Intercable in 1998, adding 1.1 million subscribers. The acquisition of Prime Communication added 406,000 subscribers. The UK company is sold to NTL inc in the same year.
1999 Comcast sold its wireless portion to Southern Bell (SBC now AT&T) for $1.7 billion. 1999 Great Media Inc was acquired, adding 80,000 subscribers. termination fee.
2000 Comcast acquires Lenfest Communications, adding 1.3 million subscribers.
At the end of 2001, Comcast inherits the largest broadband network in US history.
Founder: Ralph Roberts (2 photos)
2002 Comcast acquires all the assets of AT&T Broadband Cable Systems for $47.5 billion, resulting in nearly 21 million cable customers in 38 states. As part of the deal, Comcast also acquired the National Digital Television Center in Colorado, known today as Comcast Media Center, making Comcast the number one cable operator in the United States. In the same year Comcast deployed HD video services and VOD services.
2004 Comcast offered to buy The Walt Disney Company for US$66 billion, but eventually dropped the offer due to opposition. In the same year Comcast resold its shares in QVC to Liberty Media for $7.9 billion.
2005 Comcast and SonyPictures Entertainment jointly acquired MGM, and in the same year acquired Susquehanna Comminications (which previously owned 30% of its stock) for $540 million, a merger that brought Comcast nearly 230,000 cable subscribers, 70,000 digital cable subscribers, and 86,000 broadband Internet subscribers.
In 2006 Comcast and Time Warner Cable joined forces to acquire Adelphia, which had filed for bankruptcy protection after the Rigas family, the founder, misappropriated the company's assets, for $17.6 billion, a merger that made Time Warner Cable the second largest cable operator in the U.S. Comcast and Time Warner both Subscribers are swapped based on geographic location, allowing both companies to maximise their presence in a given area.
2006 Comcast acquires software company Platform.
2007 Comcast acquires Patroit Media for $480 million, a deal that brings Comcast nearly 81,000 cable subscribers and expands its coverage to New Jersey.
2009 Comcast announces it will negotiate with GE to buy NBC, the largest TV channel in the US, with Comcast acquiring a 51% stake.
2014 Acquisition of Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable operator in the US.
On 28 April 2016, Comcast announced that it would acquire DreamWorks Animation for US$3.8 billion, according to the UK Daily Mail.
On 14 January 2022, US telecoms provider Comcast announced that it had successfully completed testing in its labs of the world's first prototype 10Gbps 10 Gigabit demodulator for the home, which could bring gigabit cable broadband experiences to home users.
13 December 2022 - US operator Comcast announced that it has completed the world's first real-time, multi-gigabit symmetrical Internet connection powered by 10Gbps 10 Gigabit broadband and full duplex DOCSIS 4.0.