By Mark Scott
New York City, NY – The nation's two biggest cable TV providers have sealed a deal to buy bankrupt rival Adelphia. The joint bid from Time Warner and Comcast beats out a last-minute offer made by Cablevision Systems.
The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval.
Under the agreement, it's likely cable systems in the Buffalo area will be turned over to Time Warner, which already has a presence in New York State. Tom Tarapacki, the director of the Office of Telecommunications in Buffalo, says there are a number of questions the city will want answered before its agrees to a franchise transfer.
"One of the biggest issues that the Mayor has talked about has to do with the number of Adelphia employees currently in the city of Buffalo," Tarapacki said. "There are about 1,500 total, many of whom support the national operations of Adelphia. Mayor Masiello is very concerned about the future of those employees under a new operator."
Tarapacki said it be at least nine to 12 months before the city's franchise is transferred.
After the deal closes, Comcast will maintain its lead as the largest cable TV company in the country, with about 23 million customers. Time Warner will remain second with almost 14 and a-half million subscribers.