• April 22, 2003

The Comcast Ad Sales division of Comcast Cable said Tuesday that it had completed several interconnects throughout the country in what it said was a major step toward Comcast's goal to consolidate its markets and simplify the purchase of cable advertising. The interconnects completed during Q1 include Seattle; Salt Lake City; Flint and Lansing, Mich.; Fort Wayne and South Bend, Ind.; Richmond, Va.; Salisbury, Md.; and Miami and Jacksonville, Fla; Comcast also worked with Adelphia to interconnect West Palm Beach, Fla., and with Time Warner Cable, Charter, Mediacom and US Cable to interconnect Minneapolis. Comcast said that for advertisers, it means there's a single point of contact, standardized affidavits and easier invoicing. The company said Comcast interconnects must meet stringent criteria and standards before they are launched. "Comcast Ad Sales is committed to setting the benchmark for the way cable advertising is bought and sold. These 12 newly connected markets denote an important stride in Comcast's goal of creating a unified ad sales business and providing advertisers with an easy, one-stop shopping experience on a scale never seen before in cable," said Charlie Thurston, president of Comcast Ad Sales. Comcast Ad Sales, with its completed transaction with AT&T Broadband, will reach nearly 30 million subscribers in 72 of the nation's 210 DMAs.