And for UPC, the partners help it raise capital to buy European cable systems.
The cable companies blame the need to invest in their cable systems, and dearer programming.
The Time Warner cable systems in the New York City area, says Cablevision's cable president, Thomas M.
In the 1980s TCI bought up hundreds of cable systems, at times doing a deal a week.
That could free up bandwidth for local high-def channels over satellite or more high-def channels over cable systems.
Significantly, Time Warner owns no cable systems in Asian countries, most of which limit or exclude foreign ownership.
Wood says he is aware of at least three companies that are trying to build virtual cable systems.
The Justice Department also is investigating the contracts that programmers sign in order to be distributed on cable systems.
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Called TV Gateway, it started rolling out late last year in cable systems operated by Cox, Charter, Adelphia and Comcast.
He soon developed a knack for buying cheap, fixer-upper cable systems, raising quality and prices and plowing the cash flow into more acquisitions.
They point out that only around half of America's cable systems are modern enough to offer consumers high-speed Internet access.
HD-ready sets are great for watching DVDs, and there's more high-def programming than ever from networks, cable systems and satellite providers.
While all broadcasters and cable systems must carry the national test, there is a loophole which has been exploited in the past.
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Several telephone companies and electric utilities formed units to build new cable systems, while entrepreneurs clamored to get in on the action.
Between them, the four cable companies operate nine of the ten biggest local cable systems in the country, and 20 of the top 25.
Today, cable systems have to provide costly set-top boxes equipped with high-capacity hard drives to every new customer that signs up for DVR service.
EchoStar had argued originally that even combined with Hughes, it would have a small fraction of the overall pay-television market compared to cable systems.
So the Turner cable systems were able to add value to Warner and Time content, and Warner and Time distribution platforms could enhance Turner content.
For Turner, having access to cable systems made all the difference.
They can vigorously enforce antitrust laws and maintain a pro-competitive bias to securing equal access for service providers to such networks as telephone, wireless and cable systems.
And Nugent is forever plugging the show during radio interviews and appearances on Politically Incorrect, urging his fans to demand their cable systems add the tiny network.
Club members were encouraged to post flyers in gun and tackle shops and to encourage sportsmen to call cable systems and insist they add the Outdoor Channel.
The consoles are already in 17 million homes, and 10 million of those Xbox owners subscribe to the online Live service--as many as some smaller cable systems.
It now has every bit of distribution that is regarded as essential: publishing, movie and television production, music, a small television-broadcast network, cable systems and cable networks.
In addition, the threat to cable systems from digital satellite broadcasters has receded in America (partly because Mr Murdoch has bowed out of the satellite business there).
Malone built up this portfolio by taking small stakes in new channels that needed carriage on TCI cable systems, masterfully rolling them into larger stakes or direct control.
Kent sold off unprofitable cable systems and shut down others.
But while the act requires that cable systems not engage in anticompetitive behavior toward independent programmers, there is no requirement that a cable operator carry any particular independent programmer.
The FTC is concerned the high-speed cable systems that Time Warner is rolling out across the US, covering 20% of the population, will only be available to AOL users.
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