Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Cox Communications to carry on Prime Cable tradition

Friday, Oct. 2, 1998 | 11:58 a.m.

"GOOD MORNING, Cox Communications."

That was the pleasant voice I heard Thursday when I called the cable company. It is the same greeting Las Vegans will hear for many years to come. It is a good greeting. It is from a good company. It will be very good for Southern Nevada.

What was so unusual about that greeting, though, is that I wasn't expecting to hear it so soon. You see, my family was the majority owner of Prime Cable of Las Vegas -- until Thursday. Over the past 12 years I got used to hearing the name Prime Cable on that end of the phone. That and many other changes may be taken in stride by others but, for me, it gave reason for pause.

The Greenspuns will still be very much involved in Cox Communications of Las Vegas. That's the way both my family and the Cox family envisioned Cox's purchase of 80 percent of the company. Our 20 percent interest is and will be a substantial commitment to the future growth of communications across this valley.

Now that the smoke has cleared and the cheerful voice on the end of the phone has signaled the transfer of ownership, it is time to reflect on the 30-plus years that my family has owned the system. That's a natural thing to do. In some places it is called seller's remorse, but not here. For this is the kind of transaction that allows no room for "what could have been," only the opportunity to think about what will be.

When the Public Service Commission in 1970 granted my parents the right to serve Clark County with cable television, our community already had every broadcast network available. The reception was good and no one had heard of satellites, thus no HBO, ESPN or CNN. In short, whatever there was to watch we already had and whatever reception that could be enhanced, we didn't need. Not much of a prospect for a successful cable venture.

For a lot of good reasons, the system did not begin construction until the latter part of 1979. By that time there were satellites in orbit and the number of channels available to enhance our television-watching lives was growing exponentially. All we needed was a partner who knew how to build and operate a system and where, of course, to find the money to do all that.

As our latest transaction has proved beyond any question, we have been most fortunate in being able to find the right partners at the right time. When the cable system needed to be built and the resources secured, we found the Times Mirror Co. As the owner of the Los Angeles Times and a growing cable division with great promise, Times Mirror was eager to provide whatever was needed to build a first-rate cable company in Las Vegas. That was in 1981.

A few years later, Times Mirror decided to sell, which gave us the opportunity to become partners with a group of cable operators from Texas, Prime Cable. I can say without hesitation that the past 12 years have not only been financially rewarding but, more importantly, the most personally rewarding partnership I can imagine. Not only were our partners great at what they did but they also insisted that what my family thought was good for Clark County was the way the company would act. And they never wavered.

In looking for the kind of partner that could take the cable company -- and all that it will become as a major telecommunications player in the valley -- into the next century, we looked for the qualities of our Prime partners and the understanding that most often comes from family-owned or -operated businesses.

Cox Communications fit the bill. So now the phone will be answered with a different name but with, I am confident, the same commitment to doing what is right for Las Vegans and the hundreds of thousands of customers who make this system one of the largest in the United States. That understanding was evident in the way Cox representatives negotiated the franchise transfers and renewals with all five local governments in near-record time. And that commitment will be evident each time a customer picks up the telephone.

"Good morning, Cox Communications" is what they'll hear. The best in the business is what they'll get.