Suddenlink FYI

The St. Louis Business Journal recently profiled Suddenlink as the 13th largest privately held company with corporate headquarters in the St. Louis area — featuring a Q&A with Suddenlink’s CEO, Jerry Kent, and a special note about his track record in a column penned by the Journal’s publisher. (Note: Free registration or paid subscription may be required to access some of the linked articles.)

To answer growing consumer demand for more high-definition television (HDTV) programming, Suddenlink is expanding the number of HD channels it offers in cable systems with sufficient capacity.

Most recently, the company boosted the number of HD channels in several Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri communities — adding TBS HD, ESPN2 HD and History Channel HD. (The company also added ESPNU to its Digital Sports and Information Tier.)

Cable systems receiving new channels in this latest push include the following.

ARKANSAS: Arkadelphia, Batesville, Clarksville, El Dorado, Heber Springs, Hot Springs Village, Jonesboro, Magnolia, Mountain Home, Pocahontas, Russellville. (The Magnolia system also added the HD signal of KTAL-NBC to its “HD Broadcast” tier.)

LOUISIANA: Alexandria, Bastrop, Bossier City, DeRidder, Lake Charles, Natchitoches, Sulphur

MISSOURI: Branson

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Check here for more information on Suddenlink HD versus competitive services.

Check here for more information on the categories of HD channels generally available through Suddenlink HD systems.

Check here, and enter your zip code, to determine if HD service is available in your area.

Suddenlink and LIN TV Corp. have finalized and signed a multi-year agreement that will allow various Suddenlink cable TV systems in central Texas to retransmit the signal of KXAN, the Austin NBC affiliate. This agreement covers both KXAN’s standard signal as well as its high-definition (HD) signal.

The overhwelming majority of affected Suddenlink customers live in and around Georgetown, Leander, and Pflugerville, Texas. As a result of this new agreement and a revised agreement with KCEN, the Temple NBC affiliate:

KXAN’s primary signal is returning to Channel 4 on Suddenlink’s line up in all three communities listed above.

KCEN’s primary signal is being moved to Channel 16 on the Georgetown and Leander line ups, and being removed entirely from the Pflugerville line up at KCEN’s request.

KXAN’s HD signal is being added to Channel 730 in all three communities, replacing KCEN’s HD signal.

Below is an updated reference guide to basic information about Suddenlink.
All numbers are approximate as of 12/31/07.

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Established: February 2003 (started operating as Suddenlink in May 2006)

Products/Services: Basic Cable TV, Digital Cable TV, HDTV, Digital Video Recorders, High-Speed Internet, Phone

Major Areas of Operation: Texas, West Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, California

Corporate Headquarters: St. Louis, MO

Regional Headquarters: Greenville, NC; Charleston, WV; Dallas, TX; Tyler, TX; Lubbock, TX

Customer Call Centers: Greenville, NC; Parkersburg, WV; Tyler, TX; Lubbock, TX

Annual Revenue: $1.3 billion

Revenue Generating Units: 2.4 million

Customers/Homes Served: 1.3 million

U.S. Cable Industry Rank: Top 10

Employees: 4,700

2007 Major Achievements: Dramatically improved customer service levels; migrated video, Internet and phone customers from acquired systems to common national network; grew revenue generating units by nearly 158,000; increased availability of phone service from 16% of serviceable homes to approximately 80%, or more than 2 million total homes; doubled speeds of residential Internet services up to 10 mbps for most customers, at no additional charge; expanded number of high-definition TV channels.

Awards, Honors, Recognitions: CableFAX 100, CEO Jerry Kent; CableWorld’s Most Influential Women, CFO Mary Meduski and SVP Programming Patty McCaskill; CableWorld’s Top 50 Minorities in Cable, Commercial and Advertising SVP Kevin Stephens; three Bronze Telly Awards and a St. Louis AMA Marketing Excellence Award for ad campaigns; Alexandria, La., team’s support of Food Bank of Central Louisiana won LCTA Community Relations and President’s Awards, also an ACC Beacon Award finalist; newspaper reader surveys in multiple markets named Suddenlink top local Internet service provider.

As required by the FCC, Suddenlink will start printing a message about the digital TV transition on customer bills effective April 1. The text of that message is published below. For answers to commonly asked questions on this topic, check here.

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February 17, 2009 is the date established by the federal government for the digital TV transition – HOWEVER, NO ACTION is required on your part if your TV sets are already connected to Suddenlink cable TV service. If you have questions, please visit www.suddenlinkfyi.com/dtv or contact us at the customer-service number listed on your bill. The federal government has also required us to inform you of the following additional information, which is provided in language outlined by the federal government; accordingly, any questions about this information should be directed to the federal government via the contact information provided here: “After February 17, 2009, a television receiver with only an analog broadcast tuner will require a converter box to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna (or may have to be replaced) because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. Information about the DTV transition is available from www.DTV.gov … and from www.dtv2009.gov or 1-888-DTV-2009 for information about subsidized coupons for digital-to-analog converter boxes.”

A customer of the Suddenlink cable system serving New Bern, NC, recently sent the following message to us, via our main Web site. The content of this message has been edited for space and to remove the name of the direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) company referenced in the customer’s correspondence.

“… I am a ‘returning’ Suddenlink customer. After being lied to by (DBS Company X) we decided to give them a try … We had been told at the time we contracted with (DBS Company X) that we would be able to receive network broadcasts (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) in high definition. What they DIDN’T tell us is that THEY do not provide local or network broadcasts in high definition in the New Bern area. For that we were told we would have to use an ‘external antenna’ in addition to the TWO external antennas they had already installed. Of course it did not work, so we cancelled (DBS Company X) and have returned to our reliable, excellent Suddenlink network high definition provider. Now (DBS Company X) has been trying to bill us for an ‘early cancellation fee of $250!’ … anyone wanting to watch things like the Super Bowl, The Master’s, the World Series, etc., in high definition will have trouble doing it if they are only using (DBS Company X). Their equipment also malfunctioned continually, requiring 15 minute ‘reboots’ of their receivers, to reach their customer service took forever, and we are SO happy to be back with good old, reliable Suddenlink … ”

Suddenlink-served Mountain Home, Ark., took top honors on Outdoor Life “Best Places to Live” list. The magazine ranks the top towns for hunters and anglers to live in its April 2008 issue, on newsstands March 20. The magazine used extensive data to score 200 towns on available sporting opportunities and quality of life. For complete details on all 200 towns, check here. Or, to learn more about the magazine’s view of Mountain Home, check here.

Fifteen years ago, CBS’ award-winning news show, 60 Minutes, profiled Branson, Mo. –- a town of a few thousand people nestled in the Ozark Mountains, on the shore of Lake Taneycomo, a few-minutes drive from the Missouri-Arkansas border, Table Rock and Bull Shoals Lakes.

Why would the nationally revered 60 Minutes care about this tiny, remote corner of the world? Because sometimes the most obscure news is the most compelling news of all.

The gist of the 60 Minutes story was that this quiet, unassuming town had — over the course of roughly 25 years and for no immediately apparent reason — attracted a number of prominent shows and theaters, backed by some of the day’s biggest names in country-western music: names like Roy Clark and Mickey Gilley.

And that was, literally, just the beginning.

In January, Suddenlink’s Gainesville, Texas, employees conducted a “Slippers For Seniors” drive, collecting nearly 200 pairs of house shoes for area nursing-home residents. They followed up that effort in February with their second annual drive to benefit a local charity devoted to moms and infants, collecting more than 2,700 diapers and nearly 1,400 baby wipes.

Yesterday, Suddenlink launched its “Win a Home Upgrade” sweepstakes.

One lucky winner will receive a $25,000 grand prize, to be used toward a home upgrade, presented in gift cards from a major home improvement store. Additional prizes also will be awarded to qualifying applicants.

From now until April 15, 2008, individuals who upgrade or subscribe to new qualifying services from Suddenlink will automatically be entered in the contest and become eligible for the $25,000 grand prize. Installation of the ordered services must be completed no later than May 15, 2008.

To qualify for the “Win a Home Upgrade” sweepstakes, entrants are required to be at least 18 years of age and lawfully reside within a Suddenlink serviceable zip code. No purchase is necessary to win, and the sweepstakes is void where prohibited. (Suddenlink employees, their immediate families, and members of their households are not eligible.)