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Adelphia founder shares down home philosophy
by Kevin Cody
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Adelphia founder John Rigas talks with Adelphia’s Hermosa Beach employees, including manager Shirley Dorr (left). Photo by Kevin Cody |
The man who gave the beach cities digital cable and took away X-rated programming, such as the Spice Channel, visited Hermosa Beach last Friday to do what he said he enjoys most.
"I enjoy sitting down with a cup of coffee and getting to know the employees. I’m kind of a mom and pop operator," John Rigas, the 76-year-old president and founder of Adelphia Cable, told approximately 100 Adelphia employees during a lunch in the company parking lot.
"I’m not one of those geniuses. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. And I made some good choices, and I was lucky," the son of a Greek immigrant, who was born over his father’s restaurant, said in explaining how he came to head the $8 billion company. Adelphia is the fifth largest cable company in the United States, with 5.6 million subscribers.
"When I started in community antenna TV in rural New York in 1952, we gave people five stations — three clear and two snowy. We charged $150 for installation and $2.75 per month. Then we offered them 12 stations and people said, ‘What do we want 12 stations for?’" he recalled.
But "choice," Rigas quickly recognized, was the key to his company’s growth.
"People ask me when I finally felt secure about the future of my company. I tell them I’ll never reach that point. But ask me when I’ve felt the most secure and I’ll tell you it is right now. People think we’re threatened by competition from satellites. But satellites have real difficult with two-way communications. And we’re ready to offer two way telepathy now. Never before have we had the opportunity to offer so many choices."
"Our average monthly customer charge was $30 per month. Now it’s $46. And we’ll be up to $100 per month. Now that’s a chunk of change," he said.
Adelphia acquired Century Cable, which served Los Angeles the beach cities, in 1999 for $5.2 billion.
Citing his determination to "control our destiny," Rigas insisted he and his three sons will not sell, or merge Adelphia, whose name is Greek for brother.
"I know family is the most important thing. But I like to think that we here are all family too," Rigas told his employees. ER