Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and third largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, telephone service and home security [in some areas] to both residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia.The company is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Comcast also has significant holding in several cable networks (including E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel and NBC Sports Network), distribution (ThePlatform), and related businesses. Comcast acquired a majority stake in media conglomerate NBCUniversal in January 2011. Comcast has been the subject of criticism for activities including its stance on net neutrality,as well as poor results on customer satisfaction surveys.Comcast Cable was originally formed as American Cable Systems in 1963 and was founded by Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky based on a recommendation from Pete Musser, who brought the deal to Ralph Roberts to buy his first cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi. The company was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1969, under the new name Comcast Corporation.The name "Comcast" is aportmanteau of the words "Communication" and "Broadcast".
Over a number of years, Comcast became majority owner of Spectacor (renamed to Comcast Spectacor), Comcast SportsNet (in Chicago, Michigan, Philadelphia, Washington DC/Baltimore, New England, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Pacific Northwest and metro Sacramento), as well as E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel andNBC Sports Network (formerly the Outdoor Life Network, then Versus). In 2006, Comcast started a new sports channel—SportsNet New York—in the greater New York City region, in partnership with the New York Mets and Time Warner Cable.Comcast also has a variety network known as Comcast Network, available exclusively to Comcast and Cablevision subscribers. The channel shows news, sports, and entertainment and places emphasis in Philadelphia and the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. areas, though the channel is also available in New York, Pittsburgh, and Richmond. In August 2004, Comcast started a channel called CET (Comcast Entertainment Television), available only to Colorado Comcast subscribers, and focusing on life in Colorado. It also carries some National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) games when Altitude Sports & Entertainment is carrying the NHL or NBA. In January 2006, CET became the primary channel for Colorado's Emergency Alert System in the Denver Metro Area.In 1996, Comcast launched Comcast Online, a broadband Internet service. Comcast purchased Sarasota Online, then one of the largest Internet providers in Florida and owned by entrepreneur Richard Swier and quickly expanded Internet service into over 30 cities. Comcast's Internet service has 18.582 million customers as of March 30, 2012.The UK division was sold to NTL in 1998. After the sale of their cellular division to SBC Communications of San Antonio and the acquisition of Greater Philadelphia Cablevision in 1999, Comcast and MediaOne announced a $60 billion merger which did not occur until three years later (as AT&T Broadband). In addition, Comcast rebranded around that time and began to employ the logo that continues to be used to this day.In 2002, Comcast paid the University of Maryland $25 million for naming rights to the new basketball arena built on the College Park campus, named Comcast Center.On January 3, 2005, Comcast announced that it would become the anchor tenant in a new skyscraper in downtown Philadelphia, to be named the Comcast Center, not to be confused with the Maryland arena mentioned above. The 975 ft (297 m) skyscraper is the tallest building in Pennsylvania.
In December 2005, Comcast announced the creation of Comcast Interactive Media (CIM), a new division focused on online media.As of September 30, 2010, Comcast serves a total of 22.9 million cable customers, 16.7 million high-speed Internet customers, and 8.4 million voice customers. Comcast is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and also has corporate offices in Atlanta, Detroit,Denver, and Manchester, New Hampshire.Comcast announced in May 2007 and launched in September 2008 a dashboard called SmartZone. Customers can use the service most likely sometime that year according to the Daily Herald near Chicago, quoting a Comcast spokesperson.HP or Hewlett-Packard led "design, creation and management". Collaboration and unified messaging technology came from open-source vendor Zimbra, according to IDG News Service, who spoke with a Comcast spokesperson the previous year. "SmartZone users will be able to send and receive e-mail, listen to their voicemail messages online and forward that information via e-mail to others, send instant messages and video instant messages and merge their contacts into one address book", according to IDG.IDG also noted Cloudmark spam and phishing protection and Trend Micro antivirus.The address book is Comcast Plaxo software.Comcast announced for the end of 2008 a new network congestion management technique, after receiving no complaints over the summer in five market trials which were held in Warrenton, Virginia; Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lake View, Florida; and East Orange, Florida.As of October 30, 2008 Comcast signed a product development and distribution agreement with ABC Radio that will bring branded content from E! Entertainment, Style Network and G4 to terrestrial radio affiliates.On December 1, 2009, CNBC reported that a tentative agreement had been reached between Comcast and GE.The deal was formally announced on December 3, 2009.Under the agreement, NBC Universal would be 51% owned by Comcast and 49% by GE. Comcast is to pay $6.5 billion cash to GE. Comcast will also contribute $7.5 billion in programming including regional sports networks and cable channels such as Golf Channel and E! Entertainment Television. GE plans to use some of the funds, $5.8 billion, to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal.After the transaction completes, Comcast will reserve the right to buy out GE's share at certain times. GE will also reserve the right to force the sale of their stake within the first seven years. The deal was completed in January 2011, with Comcast taking over as NBC's majority owner.Comcast holds the Consumerist 2010 Worst Company In America award. A gold trophy in the shape of a pile of human feces was delivered to Comcast Corporate Headquarters to commemorate the unmatched level of enmity flowing from their customer base to their business. Competitor Verizon congratulated Comcast on their award via the Verizon Twitter feed. Comcast immediately publicly acknowledged the award, claiming ongoing effort to improve their customer service.
Net income $ 4.160 billion (2011)
Total assets $ 157.81 billion (2011)