Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
6 <br /> REPORT <br /> CVI/TWC TRANSFER OF CONTROL <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> Commensurate with the Cable Act of 1992, the Federal Communications Commission <br /> promulgated a transfer of ownership procedure to allow franchise authorities to review the <br /> legal, technical and financial qualifications of the new owner/transferee; and determine <br /> whether or not the transferee is qualified to assume the duties and responsibilities of operating <br /> a cable-telecommunication system. <br /> The FCC-394 form must be completed by the operator and provided to the franchise authority <br /> to disclose the business matters associated with the transfer. It requires the cable operator to: <br /> 1) furnish a copy of the document providing for the transfer of control from Alert Cable TV of <br /> North Carolina to Time Warner Incorporated, 2) address whether the transferee is legally <br /> qualified to transact business in North Carolina, 3) address the character qualifications of the <br /> transferee, 4) address the transferee's financial qualifications, and 5) discuss the transferee's <br /> technical qualifications. <br /> As a result of the recent merger between, Time Warner Entertainment [I WE] and Advance/ <br /> Newhouse Partnership, Time Warner now has interests in cable systems which serve 8.8 million <br /> subscribers, approximately 14.5% of the subscribers in 34 states. The Partnership's total value is <br /> estimated at approximately$8.4 billion. Time Warner Cable is the second-largest multiple system <br /> cable operator in the United States, owning or operating 22 of the largest 100 U.S. cable systems. <br /> TWE has total assets exceeding $17 billion. <br /> METHODOLOGY: <br /> CVI's submission to the Franchise Authority was evaluated by the consultants to determine <br /> whether the operator provided information about the transferee consistent with the procedures <br /> prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission. Documents provided by CVI about <br /> Time Warner were read carefully. Information furnished by CVI was evaluated against <br /> similar information known by the consultants: information which had been gathered over time <br /> by the consultants about the transferee's [Time Warner] character, legal, technical, financial - <br /> business practices. <br /> On several occasions, the consultants met with CVI representatives and spoke with attorneys <br /> from the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] to discuss issues and concerns related to the <br /> merger. The Federal Trade Commission's attorneys have the ultimate responsibility to assess <br /> the impact upon the local competitive environment by the merger. The acquisition of Alert/ <br /> CVI by TWI must be approved by the FTC. Any decision by local franchise authorities <br /> regarding the proposed consolidation may be rendered moot should the FTC decide that the <br /> 4 <br />