They became the princes of the television

Forty-six years, two generations of Roberts, Ralph and his son Brian, had already passed two exploits: build an empire out of nothing in the American cable and acceptance to Wall Street and their shareholders the son succeeds the father at the head of a publicly traded company. They are now successfully a third, putting their hands on one of the finest brands of audiovisual American ("Les Echos" of yesterday).

The first two rounds of force were possible by the control that the family has always retained on his company, Comcast. If it has only 3 of the capital, it was kept for a long time 80 of the voting rights until the purchase of the ATT cable industry, in 2001, which led to get off to a third party. After a long series of acquisitions that allowed them to climb to the rank of Prime cable operator in the United States, the Roberts fall, with the acquisition of 51 of NBC Universal, which could be announced in the Pantheon of patterns of media, alongside Rupert Murdoch (News Corp.) and Bob Iger (Disney). They became the princes of the television.

Grandson of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Ralph Roberts met the family rule, followed by his father and grandfather before him: change of business and city in every generation. His father, who has taken the name of Roberts and developed pharmacies in New York, died young, and the family will then settle in Philadelphia. From there, Ralph will study at Wharton, in Pennsylvania, and married Suzanne Fleischer, whose family of German Jewish origin is well established in the city. He tries to sell a golf putters, of elevator music, before joining in 1951 the Pioneer Belt Company, specializing in the straps and belts. With the support of his in-laws, he will take control, but the will back ten years later, frightened, said, by the appearance of polyester pants that are without belt. Ralph Roberts puts then all of its assets in a company pompously called "International equity Corporation" and behaves as an investor.

Sex and sports, the winning recipe

The legend is that the table of craps that he gets a pipe, in 1963, to invest in a small company of cable to Tupelo, in Mississippi, the hometown of Elvis Presley.

At the time, television signals are difficult to capture in rural areas. Clever entrepreneurs capture height (free) signal with their equipment and sell a good quality connection to their subscribers. They will soon be in urban areas, where waves go wrong between the buildings.

Ralph Roberts launches in cable and surrounds of two men who will help him to build the first part of his empire, Julian Brodsky, an accountant, and Daniel Aaron, the operational of cable. "Talk to Ralph is to have a perpetual subscription to the"New Yorker"." He can talk about everything. He listens. It is very strategic. "It stands in the back, listening to everyone and things", says Julian Brodsky, quoted in "Comcasted", a book written by a journalist of the "Philadelphia Inquirer" and the story of the Roberts (1).

For years, Ralph Roberts and his acolytes go little by little federating systems wired in the country, making the Court municipalities grant operating licenses and set rates. Will whatever the montages, never the founder not back control of its voting rights. The bulk of the income is not yet of the American Cable Systems subsidiary (International Equity will become Comcast in 1969) but Muzak, the company that distributes the elevator music, managed by Joe, brother of Ralph, which is Assistant Storecast, a distributor of ads for food systems.

To finance the expansion of the company, Ralph Roberts makes rating in 1972, but the title will soon plunge. At the time, "it wondered if, for a dollar, it has bought a beer or a Comcast action", yet tells Julian Brodsky. Cable knows real growth until the 1970s, with the launch of the channel HBO, which signals are transmitted by satellite to cable operators. Gender and sport, the recipe is found and the number of cable subscribers will stop advancing. The Roberts will also capture the local market of Philadelphia by becoming owner of the basketball team, the 76ers ("seventy sixers"), and hockey, Flyers.

The Republican years

Of the five children of Ralph and Suzanne Roberts, only the fourth, Brian, is passionate about the Affairs of the family. Elancé also discreet than his father, Emeritus squash player following his hero as a shadow. Wharton student will make almost all of its courses in Comcast. It enters for good in 1981. In 1987, it accesses the Executive Committee, and then became President in 1990, his father remained number one until 2002.

The tandem is going to wonder, by growing the society until it became the giant of today: 34.8 billion of turnover, 100,000 employees and 24 million subscribers.

For a long time, Comcast has been good third, behind the John Malone TCI and Time Warner in a very fragmented market. The context change in 1984, when Ronald Reagan withdrew to municipalities rates of cable management to the Federal Communications Commission. Therefore, the game moves in Washington. Comcast is going to Excel. We will see Michael Powell, the son of Colin Powell and President of the FCC, do a demonstration of Comcast services with a giant remote control at a Conference of cable operators. A few years later, the first Republican convention of George Bush's son will be sheltered at the Comcast Center in Philadelphia.

The Republicans will make profitable cable. Investors interested in the sector. In 1986, several companies share the activities of Westinghouse, including Comcast, which thus passes the 2 million subscribers. It is from this operation that began a fruitful collaboration between Brian Roberts and Steve Rattner, Wizard of the banker Ralph Roberts, Felix Rohatyn, at Lazard Frères's favorite. Together, they develop the taking control of QVC, the chain of shopping in which Ralph invested when it was a start-up. A machine to cash which the direction was entrusted to Barry Diller in 1993. After having unsuccessfully attempted to buy Paramount, he dreams of a merger with CBS, but the Roberts refused and managed to take control of QVC in 1995. They will cross temporarily with Diller, but find that their most important source of income, while the Democrats are back in power and cable operators rates have been reduced. QVC will be sold in 2003 to 8 billion to John Malone, former TCI boss (acquired by ATT in 1998), now at the head of Liberty Media and occasional mentor for Brian Roberts.

Revenge on ATT

The young boss is more interested in the mobile phone, a market which reminds the cable debut. Comcast will make several acquisitions (American Cellular Network in 1988, Metrophone in 1992). But the market is highly competitive, price collapse and will all be resold in 1999 to SBC Communications for a paltry $ 1.7 billion. Another adventure in the cable in the UK will not hold its promises. On the other hand, Brian Roberts will be able to convince Bill Gates to invest $ 1 billion in its society in 1997. The gesture will be reset cable operators in the stock market prices.

The first fact of war will be followed by a second, which will propel Comcast and affirm the legitimacy of the heir once and for all. In 2002, it absorbs ATT Broadband. Revenge is delicious for Brian Roberts. Three years earlier, Michael Armstrong, the pattern of ATT, was outbid on its offer for Media One Corporation, branch cable of US West. This is the time when the Internet bubble reached its peak: valuations fly, AOL buys Time Warner for $ 110 billion... When the bubble explodes, like many others, ATT must review its ambitions downward. The group split into several branches and sold its cable operations to Comcast for $ 51 billion.

Failed on Disney

Brian Roberts left the operational to Steve Burke, a former Executive of Disney, and always focuses on the next acquisition, but he never forgets to solicit the opinion of his old father today eighty-nine years. In a rare interview to "USA today", he explains: "I am a man of Excel tables. But it is always that moment of truth has nothing to do with a table. It should be the synthesis between what are your competitors, where is the technology that want your shareholders, your employees. "In 2004, however, his ambition was too large. He offered to Disney and its ABC subsidiary $ 54 billion. Disney sees a hostile offer and Comcast shareholders rebelled. It is the failure. But the desire to control the content to fill its pipes remains. The joint-venture that he is about to conclude with General Electric in NBC Universal, valued at $ 30 billion, will give him the opportunity.