Cox Communications

Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable), is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services company. It is the third-largest cable television provider in the United States,[3] serving approximately 6.5 million customers. It is also the seventh-largest telephone carrier in the country, serving 3.5 million Internet subscribers[4] and almost 3.2 million digital telephone subscribers.[5] Cox is headquartered at 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd in Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S., in the Atlanta metropolitan area.[6] It is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises.

History

Cox Enterprises expanded into the cable television industry in 1962 by purchasing a number of cable systems in Lewistown, Lock Haven and Tyrone (all in Pennsylvania), followed by systems in California, Oregon and Washington. The subsidiary company, Cox Broadcasting Corporation (unrelated to the Cox Media Group, which focuses on radio stations and television stations), was not officially formed until 1964, when it was established as a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company was renamed to Cox Communications in 1982. It was taken private by Cox Enterprises in 1985.[7][8]

In 1993, Cox began offering telecommunication services to businesses; it was the first multiple system cable operator to do so. This eventually grew into Cox Business, which now represents $1 billion in annual revenue. In 1995, Cox acquired the Times-Mirror cable properties and as a result became a publicly traded company once again.[9][10]

In 1997, Cox became the first multiple system cable operator to offer phone services to customers following the 1996 Telecom Act. Two years later in 1999, Cox acquired the cable television assets of Media General in Fairfax County and Fredericksburg, Virginia.[11] In May 1999, Cox bought TCA Cable TV and its operations in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.[12] In July 1999, Cox acquired AT&T Broadband's cable systems in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada.[13] In August 1999, Cox sold systems in Massachusetts that served about 54,000 customers to MediaOne, in exchange for Cox acquiring MediaOne systems in Connecticut and Rhode Island that served about 51,000 customers.[14][15] The following year, Cox Communications acquired Multimedia Cablevision with assets in Kansas, Oklahoma and North Carolina.[16]

In 2004, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors found Cox Communications guilty of violating an agreement with the county which stated that all homes served by Cox within Fairfax County would be digital ready with the new fiber optic network by June 2003. When this term expired with less than 30% of the county having been completed, the Board of Supervisors decided to fine Cox $100 per day from the originally agreed completion date, until work was completed in January 2006. The Board also forbade Cox from raising rates to recover the cost of the fine for a period of 10 years from the actual completion date. The total fine was approximately $93,000.[17] Also in 2004, Cox Communications announced plans to take the company private once again, expressing frustration in the shareholder's emphasis on short-term goals.[10] The company was taken private for the second time in 2005.

By November 1, 2005, Cox announced the sale of all of its Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and North Carolina properties, as well as some systems in Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Oklahoma to Cebridge Communications.[18] The sale closed in 2006 and those systems were transitioned by their new owner from Cox branding to Suddenlink Communications.[19]

On May 14, 2007, Cox announced that they had sold their investment in Discovery Communications for the Travel Channel, related assets, and $1.3 billion.[20]

In 2007, DiversityInc magazine named Cox Communications #25 in its Top 50 Companies for Diversity. Cox climbed to the sixth position on Diversity Inc.'s 2008 list.[21] Also in 2008, Cox was named #8 on the Top 10 Companies for African Americans.[22] Two years later, on

November 19, 2010, Cox began offering wireless services in Orange County, California; Omaha, Nebraska; and, in Hampton Roads, Virginia.In February 2011, Cox Communications completed its Alternative Energy Project[23] which included two fuel cell installations at each of the company's San Diego, CA and Rancho Santa Margarita, CA headquarters.[24] Two separate PureCell System 400 kilowatt installations will generate enough onsite power to reduce the company's dependence of the local power grid and decrease its carbon footprint.[25]

In September 2011, Cox Home Security was added to their suite of products listed on their website.[26] This new service uses advanced technologies similar to the home security products offered by other MSOs such as Comcast.

In August 2013, Cox launched a new television platform known as Contour, which features recommendations and a user profile system across multiple devices.[27] In 2015, Cox licensed Comcast's Xfinity X1 platform (which features more extensive integration of video streaming apps, and a voice control remote); it was deployed in 2016, maintaining the Contour naming. Cox stated that at least 1 million subscribers were on the X1-based Contour as of October 2017.[28][29]

In 2016, Cox Business reached 3 billion in annual revenue.

In August of 2018, Cox announced its acquisition of RapidScale, a managed and hybrid managed cloud services provider.[30]

On September 19, 2019, Cox introduced the Contour Stream player, based on Comcast's Xfinity Flex.[31]

In February 2023, it was announced Cox had acquired the New York-headquartered managed cloud services company, Logicworks for an undisclosed sum.[32]

On May 16, 2025, Cox announced that it had reached an agreement to merge with Charter Communications; the agreement values the combined company at $34.5 billion. The combined company will operate under the Cox Communications name, but will adopt Charter's Spectrum branding for consumer-facing operations.[33] Cox Enterprises will own 23% of the combined company, and replace Liberty Media as the provider of long-term capital to Charter.[34]

Other business units

• Cox Business: Provides business level video, voice and Internet services.
• Cox Media: Advertising sales
• Travel Media, Inc. (Sold): Travel Channel and TravelChannel.com (35%; joint venture with Scripps Networks).[35]

Cox Charities

Cox Communications Virginia created the philanthropic Cox Charities to annually provide grants to nonprofits serving youth. The organizations must have education programs that focus on science and technology, literacy, mentoring and other areas.[36] In the 2016-2017 program, 15 nonprofits received a total of $150,000.[36] They were:

Other state branches of Cox Communications also donate money annually through a Community Investment Grant program. The money comes from employees and goes to 501(c)(3) organizations. The organizations will differ from state to state, and year to year, but usually also have a focus on education, technology, social issues, and the arts.[37] These programs can be found in Oklahoma (nearly $165,000 in 2017),[37] Arkansas (nearly $100,000 in 2017),[38] Nebraska and Iowa (nearly $90,000 in 2017),[39]

Privatization

In 2004, Cox Enterprises announced its intention to purchase those shares of Cox Communications which it did not already own. A $6.6 billion tender offer was completed in December of that year, and Cox Communications has been a wholly owned subsidiary ever since.[41] This was the second time Cox Communications was taken private by Cox Enterprises.

Residential services

Carriage controversies

Copyright lawsuits

Marketing

One of Cox's marketing trademarks is a fictional animated "spokesman" character named "Digital Max", used from 2005 through 2008.[89][90] The phasing out of Digital Max in 2008 was followed by the introduction of the "Digeez", little digital helpmates featured in many of Cox Communications' brand commercials until 2013. In 2023, Cox Mobile introduced a CGI sheep named Annie.[91]

Official sponsors

See also

• List of United States telephone companies

External links

• Cox HSI & CATV support forum VIA dslreports.com