New York – Charter Communications could be getting the old ad-band back together, after EVP, president of Media Sales David Kline said the second largest cable operator in the country is mulling whether to join the New York Interconnect, the spot ad buying group that allows members to purchase advertising in the New York metropolitan area across more than 80 networks.
At an Advertising Week event here Thursday morning, Kline said that there have been efforts to rebuild the Interconnect, which currently consists of Comcast and Altice USA. Time Warner Cable, which Charter purchased in May, left the Interconnect in 1998.
“Time Warner Cable walked away from the Interconnect 18 years ago,” Kline said at the Ad Week event. “We’re going to do something about that.”
Kline didn’t offer many details save that two other companies are working to put the Interconnect back together.
Later, Charter said TWC Interconnect is exchanging information with the New York Interconnect and are in the early stages of due diligence.
“The goal for getting the market back together and interconnected is to make it easier for buyers to buy the market not only for linear TV (which they have done for years), but importantly for the new advanced services both companies have today and will have in the future,” Charter said in an e-mail message. “While both sides are motivated to make a reunion, there is no guarantee it will get done as there are many details that have to be worked through.”
The Interconnect reaches about 3.2 million households in the New York market, primarily in the Bronx, Brooklyn and parts of Northern New Jersey. Adding Charter would expand its reach to include Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens.
Kline’s desire to rejuvenate the New York Interconnect makes sense because he was an integral part of the organization when he was at Cablevision Systems. Kline left Cablevision in 2012 after 15 years and joined Charter in 2015 after a brief stint as president and chief operating officer of interactive advertising company Visible World.
