Cox Communications Corp

Cox Communications Corp., the nation's fifth-largest cable operator, is exploring a merger with AT&T Broadband, according to sources close to the company. The discussions are part of a monthlong search by AT&T Corp. Chairman C. Michael Armstrong for an alternative bidder to Comcast Corp., whose unsolicited $40-billion offer for the company's cable group was rejected by AT&T's board in mid-July as inadequate. Neither AT&T nor Cox could be reached Monday for comment.

Cox Communications Corp., the nation's fifth-largest cable operator, is exploring a merger with AT&T Broadband, according to sources close to the company. The discussions are part of a monthlong search by AT&T Corp. Chairman C. Michael Armstrong for an alternative bidder to Comcast Corp., whose unsolicited $40-billion offer for the company's cable group was rejected by AT&T's board in mid-July as inadequate. Neither AT&T nor Cox could be reached Monday for comment.

Fox Group Inc. and Cox Communications Corp. agreed to end a contract dispute that has prevented about 400,000 Cox cable customers from receiving the broadcaster's signal. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Fox cut off service to Cox in Dallas, Cleveland and Washington when so-called retransmission consent agreements in those cities expired Dec. 31.

Fox Group Inc. and Cox Communications Corp. agreed to end a contract dispute that has prevented about 400,000 Cox cable customers from receiving the broadcaster's signal. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Fox cut off service to Cox in Dallas, Cleveland and Washington when so-called retransmission consent agreements in those cities expired Dec. 31.

With NFL playoffs looming, about 400,000 cable subscribers have lost their connection to the Fox channels because of a dispute between the entertainment giant and a cable operator. The conflict, between Fox Group Inc. and Cox Communications Corp., has already caused sports fans in Texas to miss the Cotton Bowl and a Dallas Cowboys game and probably frustrated "Ally McBeal" followers Monday night in that region as well as in Northern Virginia and Cleveland.

AOL Time Warner Inc. is stepping up efforts to acquire a major stake in AT&T Corp.'s cable system, offering a deal that would give the media giant control of AT&T Broadband's operations, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday. AOL has been in talks with AT&T since July, when AT&T rejected an unsolicited $41-billion stock swap bid by Comcast Corp. for AT&T Broadband, the nation's largest cable provider. AT&T then began seeking other suitors, including Walt Disney Co.

In a move that promises to radically alter the Los Angeles cable landscape and could eventually improve service, Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. agreed Thursday to jointly acquire Adelphia Communications Corp. for about $17.6 billion in cash and stock. The offer by the nation's top two cable operators beat a $17.1-billion bid by Cablevision Systems Corp., a late entry in the yearlong auction for Adelphia, which filed for bankruptcy protection two years ago.

Satellite leader DirecTV is threatening to knock the ABC Family channel from its lineup as the battle between TV distributors and program suppliers escalates. The El Segundo-based company is the latest major TV distributor to refuse to pay the hefty rate increase for ABC Family demanded by the channel's owner, Walt Disney Co. According to top industry executives, the channel's modest popularity doesn't warrant the 35% hike, given its rather tiny group of loyal viewers.

With shares of AOL Time Warner Inc. trading at historical lows, talk of a takeover has become the latest parlor game from Wall Street to Hollywood. Viacom Inc. Chief Executive Sumner Redstone is among those who have played along, telling investors and analysts at recent meetings that he could -- theoretically, anyway -- contemplate such a deal if his own company's stock was higher.

Call it the Rupert Effect. Not long ago it seemed the fast-and-furious wave of media consolidation was over, with Time Warner Inc.'s marriage to AOL having proved a bust and troubled Vivendi Universal agreeing to shed its U.S. entertainment assets. The era of big deals looked dead. Then last week, the situation changed -- and so did the predictions of many Hollywood insiders about what may lie ahead in 2004. The reason was that News Corp.

Increasingly isolated in his corporate redoubt, Michael Eisner must be contemplating the strategy to pursue when you've got a reputation as a cold, imperious leader with an uneven track record, a host of alienated ex-associates and a well-financed opponent determined to place your management style and fiscal stewardship under the microscope. He could seek advice from the last Californian who waged a survival battle from the same position.

After sitting out a wave of consolidation in the telephone industry, AT&T Corp. jumped into the fray Thursday, agreeing to buy Teleport Communications Group, which offers local phone service in California and 27 other states. The acquisition, valued at $11.3 billion in stock, is the first major AT&T purchase engineered by new Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong. It would give the long-distance giant an entry into territory covered by regional Bell telephone companies.