 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: ADLAE | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Founder | John Rigas |
| Defunct | July 31, 2006 |
| Fate | Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, assets were acquired by Time Warner Cable and Comcast |
| Successor | Time Warner Cable (now |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | |
| Products | Cable television, Internet service provider |
| Revenue | $3.61 billion (2003) |
Number of employees | 275 (2006) |
| Website | adelphiarestructuring |
Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. Combining various cable properties, the company became one of the most successful in the United States and reached over two million subscribers in 1998. In addition to cable television, Adelphia later started providing high-speed internet, phone services and voice messaging for businesses.
Despite its success, in 2002 the company filed for bankruptcy amid an internal corruption scandal. An investigation was launched and later revealed that some members of the Rigas family used $2.3 billion to illegitimately purchase personal luxuries. A trial for the case was launched and saw John Rigas being sentenced to 15 years in prison, while his son Timothy Rigas received a sentence of 20 years. John Rigas was released in 2016 as a result of health issues.
Following the file for bankruptcy, a plan for company restructuring was approved in 2004; amongst other things the plan included a full cash payment to possession lenders, bank lenders and joint venture partners. The first asset to be sold was the telephone services in 27 states. It was acquired by Pioneer Telephone of Portland, Maine. The purchase price was $22.6 million and $180 million in indemnification of churn for the remaining bundled assets. In July 2006, Adelphia sold its cable operations to Comcast (which now uses the Xfinity brand) and Time Warner Cable (then part of Time Warner, later known as WarnerMedia) for $17.6 billion. In 2007, Time Warner Cable officially succeeded Adelphia as a publicly traded corporation but the cable assets were spun out in 2009 and was acquired by Charter Communications in 2016 and it is now known as Spectrum.
The Rigas family established a successor company, Zito Media, to provide cable service in some areas not sold to Time Warner, including most cable systems in Potter County, Pennsylvania.