Development History
In 1963, Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky were founded in Tupelo City, Lee County, Mississippi. The company was originally called American Cable Systems and provided cable television to the city. The service, with only 1,200 users, has been bidding for the franchise of cable television services in Mississippi and nearby areas of Pennsylvania from time to time for several years to increase the number of households. Comcast Corporation was established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1969. In 1972, the company was listed on the Nasdaq.
Comcast purchased 25% of GroupWCable stock in 1986, doubling the scale.
In 1988, Comcast purchased 50% of the shares of Storer Communications Inc. The number of users increased to 2 million and became the fifth largest cable operator in the United States. In the same year, it acquired AmericanCellularNetworkCorporate and entered the field of cellular communications. The network covered New Jersey. Wyoming, Delaware and other states.
Comcast acquired MetroPhone in 1990. In the same year, Brian L. Roberts, son of Ralph J. Roberts, took over the company's business.
Comcast merged the assets of AMCELL in 1992, and the number of users increased to 7 million.
In 1994, Comcast acquired Maclean-Hunter’s US part, adding 550,000 subscribers and becoming the third largest cable operator. In the same year, Comcast UK went public and Comcast began investing in the golf channel.
In 1995, Comcast purchased 57% of the shares and controlled QVC. In the same year, it acquired E.W.ScrippsCable, adding 800,000 users.
In 1996, Comcast began to focus on high-speed networks. It, together with Tele-Communications and CoxCommunications, formed the @Home Cable Modulator Service Company. This move allowed the cable broadband service to take the lead in the telephone company’s DSL( Digital subscriber line) service started. In the same year, Comcast deployed a broadband network in Baltimo and Sarasota for the first time. In the same year, Comcast established Comcast-Spector to invest in sports, with the NBA Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers of the Major League Hockey.
In 1997, Microsoft invested $1 billion in Comcast, and at the same time cooperated with Disney to hold EEntertainmen.
In 1998, Comcast acquired Jones Intercable, adding 1.1 million users. The acquisition of PrimeCommunication increased 406,000 users. In the same year, its British company was sold to NTLinc.
In 1999, Comcast sold its wireless part to Bell South (SBC now AT&T) for US$1.7 billion. In 1999, it acquired GreatMediaInc and added 80,000 users. In the same year, Comcast and Mediaone announced that they would merge into one 60 billion. US dollar company, but the merger failed in the end, Comcast received a termination fee of 1.5 billion US dollars.
Comcast acquired Lenfest Communications in 2000, adding 1.3 million users.
At the end of 2001, Comcast inherited the largest broadband network in the history of the United States.
Founder: RalphRoberts(2 photos)
In 2002, Comcast spent US$47.5 billion to acquire all the assets of AT&TBroadbandCableSystems, thus acquiring nearly 38 states. 21 million cable customers. This transaction also enabled Comcast to start its advertising sales. Later, its advertising business was renamed ComcastSpotlight. As part of the transaction, Comcast also acquired the National Digital Television Center in Colorado, which is today’s ComcastMediaCenter. , Comcast has become the largest cable television operator in the United States. In the same year, Comcast deployed high-definition video services and VOD services.
In 2004, Comcast proposed to acquire The Walt Disney Company for US$66 billion, but eventually abandoned the acquisition due to opposition from the other party. In the same year, Comcast reselled QVC stock to LibertyMedia, cashing out US$7.9 billion.
Comcast and Sony Pictures Entertainment jointly acquired MGM in 2005. In the same year, it acquired SusquehannaComminications (previously owned 30% of its shares) for US$540 million. This acquisition brought Comcast nearly 230,000 cable users and 70,000 digital users. Wired users, 86,000 broadband Internet users.
In 2006, Comcast and TimeWarnerCable joined forces to acquire Adelphia, which filed for bankruptcy protection due to the misappropriation of company assets by the founder Rigas family, for US$17.6 billion. This merger made TimeWarnerCable the second largest cable television operator in the United States, Comcast At the same time, TimeWarner and TimeWarner exchange users based on geographic location, so that both parties can maximize in a specific area.
Comcast acquired the software company Platform in 2006.
In 2007, Comcast acquired PatroitMedia for US$480 million. This acquisition brought nearly 81,000 cable subscribers to Comcast and expanded its coverage to New Jersey.
In 2009, Comcast announced that it would negotiate with GE to purchase NBC, the largest television channel in the United States, and Comcast would acquire 51% of the shares.
In 2014, it acquired Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable television operator in the United States.
On April 28, 2016, according to the British "Daily Mail" report, Comcast announced that it would acquire DreamWorks Animation for US$3.8 billion.
Business scope
Comcast has now integrated three networks to provide customers with TV, voice, and high-speed Internet services
Concass Specially provide services such as cable TV content, VOD and high-definition TV.
Comcast provides broadband network services with the coaxial cable of the cable TV network.
Comcast's IP telephony service is delivered by its own private network.
Main information
According to the US technology news website Recode reported on March 1, the US cable television network giant Comcast has invested approximately US$320 million, acquired a video advertising company called FreeWheel.
Officially, the transaction price has not been confirmed. The US technology news website TechCrunch predicts that the transaction amount is 320 million U.S. dollars.
This company was born in 2007, and later received 30 million US dollars in venture capital. Its video advertising clients mainly cover the TV industry, such as NBC Universal, Fox, Turner Broadcasting Company and Sky TV, Viacom and so on.
According to sources, FreeWheel earned 35 million U.S. dollars in revenue last year.
In terms of operating mechanism, FreeWheel is similar to the "video version" of DoubleClick, which is equivalent to a video advertisement exchange. It is reported that DoubleClick is a display advertising trading platform that aggregates the advertising space resources of the website and sells it to advertisers. In 2008, Google (Weibo) spent US$3.1 billion to acquire DoubleClick.
According to reports, FreeWheel later entered the display advertising field from video advertising, becoming a direct competitor of Google’s DoubleClick business.
Before this acquisition, FreeWheel had reported that it would go public, but now it seems that it is no longer necessary to go public.
Comcast is the largest cable television network operator and an important Internet access provider in the United States. It owns television media assets such as NBC Universal. Earlier, Comcast announced that it would spend $45 billion to acquire another cable network company "Time Warner Cable". However, due to the two companies’ market influence, the industry believes that the United States’ monopoly agency is more likely to veto the transaction. The public has also shown a strong backlash against this merger, believing that further monopoly will lead to a rise in cable TV prices.
Analysts pointed out that Comcast’s dominant position in film and television copyright content and broadband, coupled with new actions in video advertising, online video services and other fields, will affect Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. The video strategy of the Internet giants forms "a stumbling block."
In the 2018 Fortune 500, Comcast ranked 146th.
On July 22, 2019, the Fortune Global 500 list was released, and Comcast ranked 75th.
On September 1, 2019, Comcast (CMCSA.US) plans to abandon the Starz channel under Lionsgate Entertainment (LGF.A.US).
On October 24, 2019, Comcast (CMCSA.US) Q3 revenue was US$26.827 billion and net profit was US$3.217 billion.
Social Evaluation
Comcast is also the second largest Internet service provider in the United States, second only to AT&T. At the same time, Comcast is the fourth largest telephone service provider in the United States. Comcast ranked 79th in the Fortune 500 in 2008.
Comcast, the largest cable television operator in the United States, began selling Internet phone services in three markets in January 2013, and began all the challenges that traditional phone companies have experienced. One of the most important challenges.
Kaufman Brothers analyst MarkKay said: “They are rushing forward. Comcast is one of the first companies to test the waters of high-speed broadband network services. They also have experience in digital video business. Acquisitions and transfers are also very good."
The death of the founder
Comcast founder and honorary chairman Ralph Roberts, the creation of the largest cable television operator in the United States The person has passed away.
Last Thursday night, Comcast's honorary chairman Ralph Roberts passed away at the age of 95. Roberts founded Comcast, and spent more than 50 years transforming the company from a small cable company with only 1,200 users in Tupelo, Mississippi, into one of the largest companies in the United States with more than 22 million TV and Internet users each. .
"Ralph is an amazing man who has influenced the lives of so many people," the Roberts family wrote in a statement. "He is a competent husband, father and grandfather, perhaps the most The important thing is that he is a kind and humble person. He is generous, upright, honest, kind, and respectful of everyone around him. These qualities will make him live forever in everyone’s memory. He has brought us all. Inspired, we miss him deeply."
Behind Roberts was his 70-year-old wife, Suzanne, as well as four children and eight grandchildren. Son Brian Roberts (Brian Roberts) took over as CEO of the company in 2002. Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal two years ago, and the failure of the acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TimeWarner Cable), the company's share price rose, which brought 56-year-old Brian Roberts back to the list of billionaires.
"Ralph has built Comcast into one of America's greatest companies, and his vision and spirit have been at the core of Comcast and its culture for 50 years," the company Said, "We miss him deeply."
Roberts graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1941 and served in the U.S. Navy for four years.
Corporate Honors
On May 18, 2020, Comcast ranked 28th in the 2020 Fortune 500 list.
On August 10, 2020, the United States Comcast Telecommunications Company (COMCAST) ranked 63rd in the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list.
In May 2021, Comcast ranked 25th in the "2021 Forbes Global 2000".
On June 2, 2021, it ranked 26th in the 2021 Fortune 500 list.