NTL and Telewest complete merger

By Steve Malone

Posted on 7 Mar 2006 at 10:32

Cable companies NTL and Telewest have completed their merger. The new company, to be known as NTL Incorporated, will have over five million customers with the ability to reach 12 million homes in the UK covering some 50 per cent of the population and 85 per cent of businesses.

The deal, worth around £6.5 billion, now consolidates the cable TV market in the UK into a single dominant player. The new company will not only be able to supply digital TV to homes but also broadband and telephony services.

NTL Incorporated hopes that with its combined audience and economies of scale it will be able to compete effectively with new players in the 'triple play' market including Sky TV, which is about to launch its own broadband service based on the acquisition of the ISP EasyNet it made in October of last year. Commercial pressure is likely to increase when BT rolls out its TV over broadband service later this year.

NTL has also been in negotiations to buy Virgin Mobile in order to extend its reach as a platform-independent entertainment company.

Customers have been assured that there will be no changes to their services at the present time.

The merger puts a final seal on the troubles of the past few years. Both companies have come close to bankruptcy as they tried to manage the enormous debts built in up through cabling the streets of the UK.