Comcast Case Study

COMCAST

"America's Leading Cable Provider"

By:

Bruce Hinman

Comcast Corporation, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest cable company in the United States. Comcast develops broadband cable networks and are involved in electronic retailing and television programming content.

Comcast was founded in 1963 by Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron, and Julian A. Brodsky in Tupelo, Mississippi. Entrepreneurs who transformed Comcast from a small cable company to a massive corporation that employs over 68,000 people. Of course, with mergers as well as buying other companies, they were taking a great risk. Their risk taking has been a proven success. The company was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1969 under the name Comcast Corporation from American Cable Systems. Over the next 30 years, Comcast grows to become the well-known company it is today. Moving into the area of programming content, Comcast became majority owner of Comcast-Spectacor, Comcast SportsNet (In Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington/Baltimore area), and E! Entertainment Television and Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel and the Outdoor Life Network over a period of years.

The UK division was sold to NTL (National Transcommunications Limited) in 1998, a European cable/cellular company. After the sale of their cellular division to SBC Communications of San Antonio and the acquisition of Greater Philadelphia Cablevision in 1999, Comcast and MediaOne announced a $60 billion merger, which occurred three years later. In 2001, Comcast announced they would acquire the assets of AT&T Broadband (AT&T's cable TV service). In 2002 Comcast acquired all assets of AT&T Broadband, thus making Comcast the largest cable television company in the United States. In 2002, Comcast paid the University of Maryland an undisclosed amount for naming rights to the new basketball arena built on the campus, named Comcast Center.

In staying competitive with other companies, Comcast has always tried to have the advantage by offering the latest technology. In 2001, Comcast launched HDTV (High Definition Television). HDTV is a form that provides crystal-clear quality wide-screen pictures with compact disc-quality surround sound. The aspect ratio of HDTV pictures is 16:9 as opposed to today's 4:3 format. Comcast also launched Video-On-Demand service (VOD) in 2001. VOD, which is now simply called On Demand, allows one to play news, TV programs, and movies whenever they want to. You can wait to watch the news at 7:00pm when you get home from work rather than missing the 5:00pm news.

Comcast not only offers many cable/television-viewing options, but also offers high-speed internet services. "Comcast's blazing-fast 100% Pure Broadband brings you scorching speeds through a connection that's always on. Plus, it comes with tons of special features like click-and-play video clips, exciting games, Disney kids' activities, digital music and so much more."

Comcast beats competition by providing excellent products and services to its customers. This is especially important in a fast-pasted changing world that leans more on technology every day. Comcast has been the leader in being up-to-speed in the latest advances in technology and options for its customers.

Comcast's biggest assets are its stakeholders. A large variety of up-to-date products are not as valuable if you do not have good service to back those products up, as well as a good reputation in always putting the customer first. This is especially true in the technological field where customers lack knowledge of the new advances. Comcast provides excellent service for all customers' needs with its very own online help desk. You can not only view your account statements but also obtain a wide variety of help and useful information. Comcast help offers a virtual customer service representative available 24/7 to answer all technical support and customer service questions. This service also allows you to search for your answer, use FAQ's, email customer support directly, join a live chat to discuss issues in their help forum, and a service called "support agent", which provides advanced technology to help ensure uninterrupted Internet service. Download this software to access automated solutions to correct the most common support issues online and offline. As technology continually changes, Comcast will only stay a leader in the cable/internet industry if it constantly changes too. Comcast has proven during it's almost 40 years that it can, and most certainly will, consistently change to insure the best quality and most up-to-date services for its customers.

What would be the downside of Comcast service? After learning all they offer you would think there would be no downside. Everyone would want these services, right? Well, that is their downside. Comcast cannot reach all rural areas. A person who lives outside of the Comcast service area, and cannot enjoy everything that is offered would be frustrated. Comcast is working to improve reaching out to others. In time, everyone will be able to have cable/high-speed Internet access.

Aside from Comcast providing the wonderful service to customers, Comcast also provides a rich, competitive selection of benefits for its full-time employees. Comcast's benefits department is continually evaluating existing and future benefits, with the well being of every Comcast employee at the forefront of their efforts. Comcast offers full-time employees comprehensive medical, prescription, dental, vision, and life insurances. Comcast offers short-term disability benefits that may continue for up to 26 weeks per calendar year. The short-term disability program is fully funded by Comcast. Employees can also elect long-term disability coverage. Leave to take time off for events such as military duty, birth of a child, adoption of a child, bereavement, or in the event of their own or immediate family members' illnesses is approved by Comcast. One benefit that is becoming popular in today's stressful world is Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The EAP provides assistance with a wide range of personal issues and concerns on a confidential basis.

Comcast not only offers a wide variety of health-related benefits but also offers benefits that "invest in you". Comcast reimburses up to $5,250 per calendar year for approved undergraduate and graduate degree-completion programs. This will encourage anyone to improve his or her human capital (education). Through a combination of vacation days, flex time, and floating and