The Continental Cablevision Story

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“First rate, as good as it gets, impressive people, good local relations, cared about things other than just the bottom line – that’s what impressed people about Continental Cablevision.”

Brian Lamb (Founder & Chairman, C-SPAN)

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“They were so good, and it was such a well-managed company, and it was such a successful partnership. There was so much to admire.”

Kevin Landry (TA Associates)

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“Without question, Hostetter and Grousbeck were the two smartest guys in the business… bar none. Amos was probably – still is probably the best financial guy I’ve ever met in my life.”

Bill Egan (Burr, Egan, DeLeage & Co.)

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“…One of the first lessons that Continental management learned maybe better than anybody else was that cash flow from a cable system was extraordinarily predictable and reliable. And they used that to great effect from the earliest days forward by effectively using leverage more than, in my opinion, any other cable operator.”

Henry McCance (Greylock & Co.)

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“We knew we were making a big difference in the lives of our customers through the work we were doing, and the products and services we provided. And that made a huge impact in our lives as well.”

John Anderson (Former Continental Manager)

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“Installing the system was hard work but it was magical because we knew we were on the leading edge. I know that sounds crazy, but we knew it…”

Tim Neher (Former President & COO, Continental)

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About the Project

“My original motivation in trying to record this story was to inform my three children about events that happened well before their age of awareness and to offer to aspiring entrepreneurs a glimpse of the joys and inevitable disappointments of exploring unchartered terrain and ‘company-building.’  And for all who lived ‘the story,’ I hoped to provide a refresher on the culture that was Continental and how satisfying it was for all of us.”

Amos B. Hostetter, Jr.
Co-Founder, Continental Cablevision, Inc.

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About Continental Cablevision

Continental Cablevision, Inc. was co-founded in 1963 by H. I. (“Irv”) Grousbeck and Amos B. Hostetter, Jr. From the first cable system the co-founders built in the northwest Ohio communities of Tiffin and Fostoria, the privately owned company grew over the next 33 years to become the third largest cable systems operator in the United States.

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Continental’s 1964 Business Plan

“We feel that the CATV industry has an unusually promising future. We have been exposed in our present employment to a continuum of new and existing businesses in widely diverse industries. Within this sample we have concluded that the CATV industry offers the most promising relationship of risk to return. As a result, we have established Continental Cablevision Inc.”

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