[December 22, 2009] Grande Communications looking to expand customer base under new ownership Tweet Dec 22, 2009 (Waco Tribune-Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Grande Communications has a new owner and more money to spend, and a healthy percentage of its system expansions in 2010 will happen in midsize cities like Waco. The San Marcos-based company wants to make its cable, telephone and Internet services available to more local residents. It also plans to roll out video-on-demand and more HD channels to customers in the six cities it serves. "The biggest complaint I hear is, 'When are you going to be in my area?' " said Matt Rohre, who manages Grande operations in the Waco area. Soon, more customers locally will have access to Grande. Grande president Matthew Murphy said the company next year hopes to increase its penetration by 25,000 homes in the Waco, Midland-Odessa and Corpus Christi markets. Of that number, it hopes to increase availability in the Waco market by 8,000 to 10,000 homes. Next year's expansion is only the first phase of a program that will last more than two years, Murphy said. Rohre said Grande has about a 90 percent penetration in its Waco market, which now includes Waco, Hewitt, Woodway and Beverly Hills. But it wants to serve more suburbs. "You can have a much stronger brand and do more with marketing when you serve a whole area," Murphy said, adding, "We have done very well in Waco, Corpus Christi and Midland the last few years, and I think if we put even more resources into those markets, we can have great results." Abry Partners, a Boston private equity investment firm, breathed life into Grande when it pumped $265 million into the company, acquiring 75 percent interest and paying off debt, Murphy said. Grande just celebrated its 10th anniversary of buying out ClearSource in 1999. Time Warner Cable represents its primary competitor locally in offering cable, Internet and telephone services. According to published reports, Grande in 2004 slowed its expansion because new investment funds had dried up. Meanwhile, its rivals in the cable and telephone industries beefed up their existing broadband networks or built largely new ones. Grande needed money to survive and thrive, and Abry provided it. "We will tackle two key investments right away: increasing our high-definition TV offerings and offering video-on-demand, which we haven't been able to provide in the past because it is capital-intensive. Now we are fully funded and will be launching it companywide next year," Murphy said. Video-on-demand allows subscribers to order movies at any time, and Time Warner Cable already has it. Rohre said Grande has added three new HD channels: MSNBC, CNBC and the Fox News Channel. It will add 12 more yet to be determined during the first quarter of next year, he added. It is lowering the price of its HD tier from $9.95 to $6.95 but will reduce the number of channels in that tier from about 25 to seven. Many of the channels in the HD tier will be moved to Grande's monthly expanded and digital services and will be viewable in high-definition with an HD box that costs $7.95 a month. Rohre said Grande does plan rate increases this year. The 20-channel basic cable will rise from $16.95 to $18.95; 75-channel expanded cable will go from $46.95 to $49.95; and 300-plus-channel digital cable will go from $57 to $59. Customers who subscribe to two of three Grande services -- phone, cable and Internet -- receive a 10 percent discount, while those who subscribe to all three get a 20 percent discount. "We don't have a response to what Grande is doing," said Time Warner spokeswoman Stacy Schmitt. "But we have added five new HD channels and will add more during the first quarter. We are increasing the number of channels with start-over features, and we're increasing our video-on-demand content." Schmitt said Time Warner does plan price increases on various cable packages, but she reportedly was traveling Monday and said she did not have access to exact numbers. [email protected] 757-5736 To see more of the Waco Tribune-Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wacotrib.com . Copyright (c) 2009, Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]