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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002

Commission file number 0-26677

Insight Communications Company, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware

13-4053502

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

 

810 Seventh Avenue New York, New York 10019

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (917) 286-2300

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Class A Common Stock, $.01 Par Value


(Title of class)

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes   x

No   o

          Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

          Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2).

Yes   x

No   o

          The aggregate market value of the common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 28, 2002 was approximately $526.7 million.

          The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of February 28, 2003: 50,704,390 shares of Class A Common Stock and 9,354,468 shares of Class B Common Stock.

Documents Incorporated by Reference:

          Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement for the 2003 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III.



Table of Contents

Table of Contents

 

 

Page

 

 


 

PART I

 

Item 1.

Business

1

Item 2.

Properties

31

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

32

Item 4.

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

33

Item 4A.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

33

 

 

 

 

PART II

 

 

 

 

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

35

Item 6.

Selected Financial Data

35

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

39

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

58

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

58

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

58

 

 

 

 

PART III

 

 

 

 

Item 10.

Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

59

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

59

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

59

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

59

Item 14.

Controls and Procedures

59

 

 

 

 

PART IV

 

 

 

 

Item 15.

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules, and Reports on Form 8-K

60

 

 

SIGNATURES

64

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

          Some of the information in this report contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate” and “continue” or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they:

 

discuss our future expectations;

 

contain projections of our future results of operations or of our financial condition; or

 

state other “forward-looking” information.

          We believe it is important to communicate our expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or over which we have no control. The risk factors listed in this report, as well as any other cautionary language in this report, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks include our history and expectation of future net losses, our substantial debt, changes in laws and regulations, increasing programming costs and competition.  You should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this report could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

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PART I

Item 1.  Business

          In this report, we rely on and refer to information and statistics regarding the cable television industry and our market share in the sectors in which we compete.  We obtained this information and statistics from various third-party sources, discussions with our customers and our own internal estimates.  We believe that these sources and estimates are reliable, but we have not independently verified them and cannot guarantee their accuracy or completeness.

General

          We are the ninth largest cable television system operator in the United States based on customers served.  We currently serve approximately 1.4 million customers, all of which are concentrated in the four contiguous states of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio. In addition to its geographic concentration, our communications network is tightly-grouped, or “clustered,” with approximately 95% of our customers served from fourteen headends after giving effect to the remaining network upgrades of our Illinois systems expected to be substantially completed by mid-2003.  As a result, the amount of capital necessary to deploy new and enhanced products and services is significantly reduced on a per home basis because of the large number of customers served by a single headend. A headend processes signals received for distribution to customers over our network.  Clustering enables us to efficiently deploy a bundled suite of entertainment, information and communications services. This combination of geographic concentration and clustering has enabled us to offer, under the Insight Digital brand, a complete bundle of interactive digital video, high-speed data access and telephone services. We are a public company and our Class A common stock is listed on The Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “ICCI.” Our experienced senior management team and members of their families own, in the aggregate, over 15% of our common stock.

          Insight Midwest, L.P. is a partnership owned 50% by us and 50% by an indirect subsidiary of Comcast Cable Holdings, LLC (formerly known as AT&T Broadband, LLC), which is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.  Insight Midwest owns systems serving approximately 1.3 million of our customers. On November 18, 2002, Comcast Corporation acquired the broadband business of AT&T Corp., and presently is the largest cable television system operator in the United States.  The transaction did not result in any direct change in Insight Midwest’s ownership structure, and we continue to serve as the general partner of Insight Midwest and as the manager of all of Insight Midwest’s systems, and the Comcast Cable subsidiary serves as Insight Midwest’s limited partner.  Our 50% interest in Insight Midwest constitutes substantially all of our operating assets.  We also manage additional systems in Indiana and Kentucky owned by an affiliate of Comcast Cable, which served approximately 114,600 customers as of December 31, 2002, for which we receive a management fee equal to 5% of the gross revenues of those systems.

          As a result of our upgrade efforts, as of December  31, 2002 , we estimate that 92% of our customers  were passed by our upgraded network, which enables delivery of an advanced suite of entertainment, information and communications services.

          We are the largest operator of cable television systems in the State of Indiana. As of December 31, 2002, the Indiana systems passed approximately 569,200 homes and served approximately 326,000 customers. The Indiana systems are located primarily in the university cities of Bloomington, Evansville and Lafayette and demographically desirable areas of suburban Indianapolis. Approximately 95%of the Indiana systems’ customers are served by three headends.

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          We are also the largest operator of cable television systems in the State of Kentucky. As of December 31, 2002, the Kentucky systems passed approximately 783,100 homes and served approximately 449,100 customers.  Our Kentucky systems are located in four of the five largest cities in the state: Louisville, Lexington, Covington and Bowling Green.  Approximately 99% of Insight Kentucky’s customers are served by four headends.

          As of December 31, 2002, the systems we manage for an affiliate of Comcast Cable passed approximately 197,600 homes and served approximately 114,600 customers.  These managed systems are located adjacent to our existing Indiana and Kentucky systems, and are operated by the employees of our existing systems.  On February 28, 2003, we exchanged with an affiliate of Comcast Cable the system we owned in Griffin, Georgia serving approximately 11,800 customers, plus $25 million, for certain of these managed systems serving approximately 23,400 customers which are presently tied into our Louisville system.  The management arrangement for the remaining managed systems expires on June 30, 2003.

          We are the second largest operator of cable television systems in the State of Illinois.  As of December 31, 2002, our Illinois systems passed approximately 687,800 homes and served approximately 413,700 customers.  The Illinois systems are located primarily in mid-sized communities, including Springfield, Rockford, Peoria and Champaign/Urbana. Upon completion of our consolidation of headends, approximately 95% of the Illinois systems’ customers will be served by six headends. The network upgrades and consolidation of headends are expected to be substantially completed during the first half of 2003.

          As of December 31, 2002, our Ohio system passed approximately 198,700 homes and served approximately 88,100 customers in the eastern portion of the City of Columbus and the surrounding suburban communities. All of the Ohio system’s customers are served from a single headend. Approximately 91% of the Ohio system’s customers are served by a network upgraded to 870 MHz capacity, and our upgrade efforts are continuing.

          Recognizing the opportunities presented by newly available products and services, the strength of our market characteristics and favorable changes in the regulatory environment, we deployed a strategy to become a competitive, full service provider of entertainment, information and communications services for the communities served by our networks. We intend to continue capitalizing on our highly clustered cable television systems and to economically upgrade the technological capabilities of our broadband networks in order to deploy enhanced new services.

          We believe that an integrated package of existing multi-channel video, new and enhanced products and services, such as interactive digital video, including video-on-demand or near video-on-demand, high-speed Internet access and telephone services, coupled with our commitment to locally focused customer service enhances our ability to acquire and retain customers in a competitive environment while increasing revenues per customer.  We believe that the highly clustered nature of our systems also enables us to more efficiently deploy our marketing dollars and maximizes our ability to enhance customer awareness, increase use of our products and services and build brand support.  In addition to our broad product offerings, we also  emphasize a high level of locally-focused content and customer service.  To augment our growth, we will continue to seek strategic acquisitions that fit our clustering and operating strategy.

          We have long-term agreements with Comcast Cable to facilitate the delivery of local telephone services.  Under the terms of these agreements, we lease for a fee certain capacity on our network to Comcast Cable.  We also provide certain services and support for which we receive additional payments.  The capital required to deploy telephone services is shared, with Comcast Cable responsible for switching

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and transport facilities.

          This report, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K, as well as any other materials that we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission are available free of charge through our website www.insight-com.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed or furnished.

          Our principal offices are located at 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, and our telephone number is (917) 286-2300.

Strategy

          Our strategy is to be a competitive, full-service provider of entertainment, information and communications services. This strategy is centered on the deployment of new and enhanced products and services for the communities served by our networks and consists of the following elements:

     Focus on operating large, tightly-grouped clusters of cable systems with attractive technical and demographic profiles

          We operate large, tightly-grouped clusters of cable systems, most of which have attractive technical and demographic profiles. Our systems are characterized by high housing densities and high ratios of customers to headends. As a result, the amount of capital necessary to deploy new and enhanced products and services is significantly reduced on a per home basis because of the large number of customers served by a single headend. We believe that the highly clustered nature of our systems enables us to more efficiently deploy our marketing dollars and maximize our ability to enhance customer awareness, increase use of our products and services and build brand support. Furthermore, our clustered systems, across 95% of our customers, providing for headends serving an average of 93,000 customers upon completion of our planned network upgrades, allow us to be capital efficient as we invest in necessary technology. Our demographic profile is characterized by good housing growth and low unemployment in growing communities, many of which are centered around large universities and/or major commercial enterprises. We believe that households with our demographic profile are more likely to subscribe to these new and enhanced products and services than the national average demographic profile.

     Expeditiously upgrade our network

          We are upgrading our network expeditiously in order to provide new and enhanced products and services, increase the programming and communications choices for our customers, improve our competitive position and increase overall customer satisfaction. We are in the process of upgrading almost all of our network to provide at least 750 MHz capacity, or “bandwidth,” and two-way active capability with an average of 700 homes per fiber node, which can be further subdivided if necessary. Nodes are the point of interface between our headends and our network. The result will be a significant increase in network capacity, quality and reliability which facilitates the delivery of new and enhanced products and services and reduced operating costs. Our aggressive investment in our broadband cable network upgrade allows us to expeditiously offer these services to substantially all of our customers.

     Introduce new and enhanced products and services, including interactive Insight Digital service, high-speed data service and telephone service

          Our marketing strategy is to offer our customers an array of entertainment, information and communications services on a bundled basis. By bundling our products and services, we provide our

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customers with an increased choice of services in value-added packages, which we believe results in higher customer satisfaction, increased use of our services and greater customer retention. We have conducted research and held numerous focus group sessions in our local markets, which lead us to believe that these services have high customer appeal. We expect that our ability to provide bundled services will provide us with a strong competitive advantage over alternative video providers, such as direct broadcast satellite television systems, and incumbent telephone companies. To accelerate the deployment of these services, we have entered into arrangements and technical initiatives with several industry leaders, including: (1) AT&T Broadband (now known as Comcast Cable) to provide telephone services; (2) AT&T Corp. and RoadRunner to provide certain high-speed data services; (3) SeaChange International, Inc. to provide video-on-demand; (4) Liberate Technologies to utilize its software platform for the deployment of interactive television services; and (5) SourceSuite LLC to provide an interactive program guide as well as local information and community guides.

     Leverage strong local presence to enhance customer and community relations

          Excellent customer service is a key element of our strategy. We are dedicated to quality customer service and seek a high level of customer satisfaction by employing localized customer care, extensively using market research and providing customers with an attractively priced product offering. A significant number of our customers visit their local office on a monthly basis providing us the opportunity to demonstrate and sell our new and enhanced products and services. Our localized customer care initiatives create substantial marketing and promotion opportunities, which we believe are effective in the deployment of interactive, digital and high-speed data products. We believe that we achieve customer satisfaction levels that are substantially above industry averages. Annually, we commission Peter D. Hart Research Associates to survey our customers with respect to service and product knowledge. Based upon our most recent survey conducted in November 2002, our customers continue to be highly satisfied with our service.

          In addition, we are dedicated to fostering strong relations in the communities we serve. We sponsor local charities and community causes through staged events and promotional campaigns, including the industry’s Cable in the Classroom program. Our emphasis on customer service and strong community involvement has led to higher customer satisfaction, reduced customer churn and excellent franchise relationships. To further strengthen community relations and differentiate us from direct broadcast satellite television systems and other multichannel video providers, we provide locally produced and oriented programming that offers, among other things, community information, local government proceedings and local specialty interest shows. In some of our markets, we are the only broadcaster of local college and high school sporting events, which allows us to provide important programming that builds customer loyalty.

     Pursue value-enhancing transactions in nearby or adjacent geographies

          To support our strategy, we intend to pursue value-enhancing transactions. To augment our internal customer growth, we will seek to swap or acquire systems that strategically fit our clustering and operating strategy. We do not currently have any agreements, commitments or understandings for any future acquisitions. There is no assurance that any additional acquisitions will be completed. We believe that by acquiring or swapping systems in close proximity we can improve revenue growth and operating margins. This is achieved through the consolidation of headends and spread of fixed costs over larger systems and the increase of operating efficiencies associated with larger systems.

Technical Overview

          We believe that in order to achieve consistently high levels of customer service, reduce

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operating costs, maintain a strong competitive position and deploy important new technologies, we will need to install and maintain a state-of-the-art technical platform. The deployment of fiber optic cable which has a capacity for a very large number of channels, an increase in the bandwidth to 750 MHz or higher, the activation of a two-way communications network and the installation of digital equipment will allow us to deliver new and enhanced products and services, including interactive digital video, high-speed data services and telephone services provided by Comcast Cable.

          As of December 31, 2002, our owned systems were comprised of approximately 28,300 miles of network serving approximately 1.3 million customers and passing approximately 2.3 million homes resulting in a density of approximately 80 homes per mile. As of that date, our owned systems were made up of an aggregate of 45 headends. We intend to continue our strategy of consolidating headends by eliminating approximately 32 headends, at which point 95% of our customers will be served by fourteen headends.  As of December 31, 2002, we estimate that  92% of our customers were passed by our upgraded network. After completion of our planned network upgrades, approximately 97% of our customers will be served by a network that is two-way active and 750 MHz.

          Our network design calls for an analog and digital two-way active network with fiber optic cable carrying signals from the headend to the distribution point within our customers’ neighborhoods. The signals are transferred to our coaxial cable network at the node for delivery to our customers. We have designed the fiber system to be capable of subdividing the nodes if traffic on the network requires additional capacity.

          We believe that active use of fiber optic technology as a supplement to coaxial cable plays a major role in expanding channel capacity and improving the performance of our systems. Fiber optic strands are capable of carrying hundreds of video, data and voice channels over extended distances without the extensive signal amplification typically required for coaxial cable. We will continue to deploy fiber optic cable to further reduce amplifier cascades while improving picture quality and system reliability.

          A direct result of this extensive use of fiber optics is an improvement in picture quality and a reduction of outages because system failures will be both significantly reduced and will impact far fewer customers when they do occur. Our design allows our systems to have the capability to run multiple separate channel line-ups from a single headend and to insert targeted advertisements into specific neighborhoods.

          To enable us to deliver telephone services, Comcast Cable is required to install and maintain the necessary switching and transport facilities. Insight Midwest is required to deploy the necessary equipment at the headends and at customers’ homes, and is responsible for expanding and upgrading our network to provide the required capacity. We are increasing the reliability of the services by implementing centralized powering and status monitoring on our networks as telephone services are deployed in our systems. Centralized power provides the reliability, including lifeline reliability, required in delivering telephone services. The existing commercial power structure employed by cable networks is subject to the general power disruptions experienced by the local power utility. Centralized power will provide immediate battery back-up for a limited duration followed by unlimited gas-powered generator back-up. This reliability will not only benefit the delivery of telephone service, but also the reliability of the other products and services delivered over the network. Status monitoring will enable us to examine key components of our network so that we can diagnose problems before they become critical and interfere with the stability of our network.

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Products and Services

     Traditional Cable Television Services

          We offer our customers a full array of traditional cable television services and programming offerings. We tailor both our basic line-up and our additional channel offerings to each regional system in response to demographics, programming preferences, competition and local regulation. We offer a basic level of service which includes up to 25 channels of television programming. As of December 31, 2002, approximately 91% of our customers chose to pay an additional amount to receive additional channels under our “Classic” or “expanded” service. Premium channels, which are offered individually or in packages of several channels, are optional add-ons to the basic service or the classic service. As of December 31, 2002, premium units as a percentage of basic subscribers was approximately 48%.

          Our analog cable television service offering includes the following:

 

Basic Service. All of our customers receive the basic level of service, which generally consists of local broadcast television and local community programming, including government and public access, and may include a limited number of satellite channels.

 

 

 

 

Classic Service or Expanded Service. This expanded level of service includes a group of satellite-delivered or non-broadcast channels such as ESPN, CNN, Discovery Channel and Lifetime.

 

 

 

 

Premium Channels. These channels provide unedited, commercial-free movies, sports and other special event entertainment programming such as HBO, Cinemax, Starz! and Showtime. We offer subscriptions to these channels primarily either as a single channel analog service or as a multi-channel digital service.

 

 

 

 

Pay-Per-View. These analog channels allow customers with addressable set top boxes to pay to view a single showing of a recently released movie or a one-time special sporting event or music concert on an unedited, commercial-free basis.

     New and Enhanced Products and Services

          As network upgrades have been activated, we deploy new and enhanced products and services in most of our markets, including interactive digital video and high-speed data services. In addition, we are offering telephone services to our customers in selected markets.

          Interactive Digital Video

          The implementation of interactive digital technology significantly enhances and expands the video and service offerings we provide to our customers. Most digital launches by other cable operators have been limited to simply offering more channels as a defensive move against competition from direct broadcast satellite television systems. Because of the significantly increased bandwidth and two-way transmission capability of our state-of-the-art technical platform, which continues to be built in conjunction with our digital launches, we have designed a more extensive digital product that is rich in program offerings and highly interactive with our customers. Our interactive digital service is designed to exploit the advantages of a broadband network in the existing generation of set-top devices. The digital service encompasses three interactive applications: (1) an interactive program guide; (2) interactive local information and community guides; and (3) a video-on-demand service.

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          We have conducted numerous focus groups and commissioned research studies, the findings of which have helped to develop our interactive digital strategy. We believe that our digital penetration will continue to increase as a result of our differentiated services such as a graphically rich local information network and video-on-demand pay-per-view with full VCR functionality.

          We are packaging a “Digital Gateway” brand. For $7.95 per month, our customers receive the following services:

 

A digital set-top box;

 

 

 

 

An interactive navigational program guide for all analog and digital channels;

 

 

 

 

A local, interactive Internet-style information and entertainment service;

 

 

 

 

A multi-channel premium service for customers who separately subscribe to premium channels, such as HBO and Showtime;

 

 

 

 

Video-on-demand;

 

 

 

 

Mag Rack, a selection of video magazines with video-on-demand functionality; and

 

 

 

 

A digital 40-channel audio music service.

          We have an agreement with Liberate Technologies that enables us to utilize the Liberate software platform for the deployment of interactive television services The Liberate software provides the middleware component of our interactive digital product. Throughout our systems, we have deployed Motorola’s DCT-2000 digital set-top boxes.  More recently, we have deployed the less expensive DCT-1700 set-top boxes, and for systems that have launched high definition television, we have deployed the DCT-5100.

          We have transitioned our digital customers from the video-on-demand service provided by DIVA Systems Corporation to a new video-on-demand infrastructure provided by SeaChange International, Inc. SeaChange provides a true video-on-demand service over the cable television infrastructure. Customers receive the movies electronically over the network and have full VCR functionality, including pause, play, fast forward and rewind. The movies are delivered with a high quality digital picture and digital sound. Our video-on-demand product is designed to provide movies at prices comparable to those charged for videotape rentals, pay-per-view and near video-on-demand movies, but with far greater convenience and functionality.  On May 29, 2002, DIVA filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

          On March 14, 2002, we purchased the remaining 50% equity interest in SourceSuite LLC that we did not already own.  Through SourceSuite, our interactive digital platform provides its local Internet-style service and its interactive program guide.

          Upon the completion of the network upgrades of the Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois systems, we will continue to migrate the previous owners’ digital products to our interactive Insight Digital product. While the previous owners’ digital products were targeted to fill programming voids, our interactive Insight Digital service is designed to provide our customers with an Internet-style experience as well as enhanced programming choices, which have resulted in higher penetration and customer satisfaction and reduced churn.

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     High-Speed Data

          We offer high-speed data service for personal computers for all of our upgraded systems through our own regional network branded Insightbb.comSM, except for our Columbus, Ohio system, which utilizes the RoadRunner service. AT&T Corp. provides the IP network backbone for our Insightbb.com service and certain core Internet support functions.  This arrangement with AT&T replaces our previous Internet access provider Excite @ Home.  We transitioned our customers from the Excite @ Home network to our new regional network in mid-February 2002.  As of December 31, 2002, high-speed data services were made available in 2 million of our homes and served approximately 144,800 of our customers.

          The broad bandwidth of our cable network enables data to be transmitted significantly faster than traditional telephone-based modem technologies, and the cable connection does not interfere with normal telephone activity or usage. For example, cable’s on-line customers can download large files from the Internet in a fraction of the time it takes when using any widely available telephone modem technology. Moreover, surfing the Internet on a high-speed network removes the long delays for Web pages to fully appear on the computer screen, allowing the experience to more closely approximate the responsiveness of changing channels on a television set. In addition, the cable modem is always on and does not require the customer to dial into an Internet service provider and await authorization. We believe that these factors of speed and easy accessibility will increase the use and impact of the Internet. Although other high-speed alternatives are being developed to compete with cable, we believe that the cable platform currently is best able to deliver these services.

     Telephone Services

          We have a long-term agreement with  Comcast Cable that allows Insight Midwest to deliver local telephone service using Insight Midwest’s network infrastructure and  Comcast Cable’s switching and transport facilities. Insight Midwest leases certain capacity on its network to Comcast Cable for a monthly fee for each of the first four lines ordered by a customer. Additionally, Comcast Cable is required to pay Insight Midwest a fee for each customer installation. Insight Midwest is compensated on a per transaction basis for sales of Comcast Cable services as Comcast Cable’s agent. For Insight Midwest’s provision of billing and collection services, Comcast Cable is required to pay it a monthly fee per customer. Insight Midwest is also entitled to additional compensation if revenue exceeds the projected target revenue for local service lines and features, such as enhanced caller ID or voice mail.

          Comcast Cable is the regulated telephone carrier for the provision of telephone services. The Comcast Cable digital telephone services are marketed and carried as part of our bundle of Insight Digital services. Insight Midwest markets the services, as Comcast Cable’s agent, both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with our other products and services, such as interactive digital video and high-speed data access. Insight Midwest also bills customers for Comcast Cable’s services, as well as provides installation, maintenance and marketing support for Comcast Cable’s services. Pursuant to the agreement, the services are to be provided in the territories in which we currently provide cable television service, other than our Illinois systems. If both parties agree, the agreements can be expanded to include the Illinois systems.  Telephone services have been deployed in areas within Louisville, Kentucky, Evansville, Indiana, Lexington, Kentucky, and Columbus, Ohio and are available to a total of approximately 533,000 households, with approximately 30,600 active customers as of December 31, 2002.

          The capital required to deploy telephone services over our networks is a shared obligation. Insight Midwest is responsible for upgrading and maintaining our network to meet specified measures of quality, including increasing the capacity on our network to an average capacity of two lines per residential

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household passed, assuming a specified service penetration rate. Insight Midwest also acquires and installs equipment to be located at the customer premises that is required to provide telephone services.  Comcast Cable is responsible for switching and transport facilities.

Business Background

          We were co-founded in 1985 as a limited partnership under the name Insight Communications Company, L.P. by Sidney R. Knafel and Michael S. Willner after a previous association with one another at Vision Cable Communications where Mr. Knafel was co-founder and Chairman and Mr. Willner held various operating positions, ultimately holding the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Vision Cable was sold to The Newhouse Group Inc. in 1981 and Mr. Willner remained there to run the cable operations until 1985 when he and Mr. Knafel formed Insight Communications.

          In addition to many years of conventional cable television experience, our management team has been involved in the development and deployment of full service communications networks since 1989. Through a then related entity, Insight Communications Company UK, L.P., our management and related parties entered the cable television market in the United Kingdom, where today modern networks are widely deployed.

          As a result of our management’s British experience, we recognized that the technology and products developed in the United Kingdom would migrate to the United States in similar form. We focused on planning to upgrade our network promptly after it became clear that the 1996 Telecom Act would encourage competition in the communications industries. We understood, however, that the new products and services available with new technology were best deployed in markets which provided for efficiencies for branding and technical investment. Our original acquisition strategy, which focused on customer growth, was very successful. However, our management team recognized the opportunity to evolve from our role as a cable television operator providing only home video entertainment into a full service alternative communications network providing not only standard video services, but also interactive digital video, high-speed data access and communications products and services.

          Recognizing the opportunities presented by newly available products and services and favorable changes in the regulatory environment, we executed a series of asset swaps, acquisitions and entered into several joint ventures that resulted in our current composition. The largest of these transactions were the 50/50 joint ventures formed with AT&T Broadband (now known as Comcast Cable) and its affiliates in October 1998 with respect to the Indiana systems, in October 1999 with respect to the Kentucky systems and on January 5, 2001 with respect to the Illinois systems. As of December 31, 1997, our systems had approximately 180,000 customers with the two largest concentrations in Utah and Indiana, which together represented less than half of its customers. We believe that we have successfully transformed our assets so that we currently own, operate and manage a cable television network serving approximately 1.4 million customers, all of which are clustered in the contiguous states of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio. Our current assets are reflective of our strategy to own systems that have high ratios of customers to headends.

          In July 1999, the holders of the partnership interests of Insight Communications Company, L.P. (“Insight LP”) exchanged their respective partnership interests for our common stock. As a result, Insight LP became our wholly-owned subsidiary. Simultaneous with the exchange, we consummated an initial public offering of 26,450,000 shares of our Class A common stock, raising an aggregate of approximately $650.0 million. Our Class A common stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “ICCI.”

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Our Systems

          Our systems in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio serve approximately 1.3 million customers. We are the largest operator of cable systems in both Indiana and Kentucky and the second-largest in Illinois. Our systems are clustered or are capable of being clustered to serve an average of 93,000 customers per headend.

          We are able to realize significant operational synergies due to the size of the clusters in these states and the demographic proximity of all of our systems. In all of our systems, we have nearly completed upgrading our system infrastructures to enable us to deliver new technologies, products and services to provide our customers with greater value and choices in the face of growing competition. The highly clustered nature of our systems enables us to (a) more efficiently invest our marketing dollars and maximize our brand awareness, (b) more economically introduce new and enhanced services, and (c) reduce our overall operating and maintenance costs as a result of our ability to deploy fiber and reduce the number of headends we use throughout our systems. As a result, we believe we will be able to achieve improved operating performance on both a combined and system-wide basis. Our relationship with Comcast Cable provides us with substantial purchasing economies for both our programming and hardware needs.

     The Indiana Systems

          General

          As of December 31, 2002, the Indiana systems passed approximately 569,200 homes and served approximately 326,000 customers.  The Indiana systems are owned by Insight Communications Midwest, which is the largest cable operator in the state. Insight Communications Midwest, which was capitalized on October 31, 1998, was a 50/50 joint venture between us and an indirect subsidiary of AT&T Broadband (now known as Comcast Cable) until the contribution of its equity interests on October 1, 1999 into Insight Midwest. We serve as manager of the Indiana systems. We believe that there are additional opportunities to augment our position in Indiana through additional acquisitions and swaps.  Approximately 95% of our customers in Indiana  are served by three headends.

          We manage the day-to-day operations of Indiana and Kentucky cable television systems owned by Comcast of Montana/Indiana/Kentucky/Utah (formerly known as InterMedia Partners Southeast), an affiliate of Comcast Cable, which served approximately 114,600 customers as of December 31, 2002. The systems are operated by employees of our Indiana and Kentucky systems, and the overhead for these systems is allocated and charged against the cash flow of the managed systems.  On February 28, 2003, we exchanged with an affiliate of Comcast Cable the system we owned in Griffin, Georgia serving approximately 11,800 customers, plus $25 million, for certain of these managed systems serving approximately 23,400 customers which are presently tied into our Louisville system.  The management arrangement for the remaining managed systems expires on June 30, 2003.

          The Indiana systems are organized in four management districts:

          The Central District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Central District passed approximately 143,900 homes and served approximately 80,400 customers, principally in the community of Bloomington. The City of Bloomington, located 45 miles south of Indianapolis, is the home of Indiana University.  Besides the University, major employers include United Technology, Cook Incorporated and General Electric. The

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median household income for the area is approximately $43,000 per year, while the median family income is approximately $55,800 per year. Household income differs from family income by including income from all persons in all households, including persons living alone and other non-family households.

          Digital video service was launched in Bloomington by AT&T Broadband (now known as Comcast Cable) prior to the formation of Insight Communications Midwest. All Bloomington digital customers have been migrated to our interactive Insight Digital service, including our video-on-demand service. Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service is also available in most of the district.  We expect to complete the upgrade of this district during 2003.

          The Southwest District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Southwest District passed approximately 127,100 homes and served approximately 59,600 customers, principally in the communities of Evansville and Jasper. The median household income for the area is approximately $40,500 per year, while the median family income is approximately $49,900 per year. Major employers include Alcoa, Whirlpool and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

          By the end of 2001, we completed the network upgrade of the Southwest District to 750 MHz and we are currently migrating the digital customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, including our video-on-demand service and the LocalSource interactive information service. Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service is available in Evansville.  In addition,telephone service was launched in parts of Evansville in August of 2001, with service expected to be available throughout most of the district by the end of 2003.

          A related party of Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Co. has overbuilt the City of Evansville. Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Co. has obtained franchises to provide cable television service in the City of Evansville and neighboring areas and commenced service in April 1999. We believe the Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Co. overbuild passed approximately 82,300 homes in our service area as of December 2002 and is expected to pass additional homes, and has commenced offering telephone and data service.

          The Northwest District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Northwest District passed approximately 103,700 homes and served approximately 68,200 customers, principally in the communities of Lafayette and Kokomo.  The City of Lafayette is the home of Purdue University. Besides Purdue University, major employers include Great Lakes Chemical, Lafayette Life Insurance, General Motors and Delco Remy. The median household income for the area is approximately $41,100 per year, while the median family income is approximately $52,400 per year.

          The upgrades of the Lafayette and Kokomo systems to 750 MHz are completed.   Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service and Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and our video-on-demand service is available in all of these markets.

          The Northeast District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Northeast District passed approximately 194,500 homes and served approximately 117,800 customers in Richmond as well as in the suburban communities near Indianapolis, including Anderson and Noblesville.  Indianapolis is the state capital of Indiana and is the twelfth largest city in the United States.  Major employers include General Motors, Eli Lilly and Belden

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Wire and Cable. The median household income for the area is approximately $55,000 per year, while the median family income is approximately $63,500 per year.

          The upgrade of the Northeast District to 750 MHz was substantially completed in 2002.   Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service is available throughout most of the district.  AT&T Broadband (now known as Comcast Cable)  launched digital service in several of the markets in 1998, and we have migrated most of those customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, simultaneous with the launch throughout the district of our Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and our video-on-demand service.

     The Kentucky Systems

          General

          As of December 31, 2002, the Kentucky systems passed approximately 783,100 homes and served approximately 449,100 customers. This includes approximately 46,800 homes passed and approximately 23,400 customers served by the Jeffersonville, Indiana system which is owned by Insight Communications Midwest and operated by the management of the Louisville, Kentucky system. The Kentucky systems are owned by Insight Kentucky Partners II, L.P., which is the largest cable operator in the state. We acquired a combined 50% interest in Insight Kentucky’s parent on October 1, 1999, with related parties of AT&T Broadband (now known as Comcast Cable) holding the other 50% interest. Simultaneous with this acquisition, all of the equity interests were contributed into Insight Midwest. We serve as manager of the Kentucky systems.

          Our Kentucky systems are located in and around four of the five largest cities in the state: Louisville, Lexington, Covington, and Bowling Green. Over 99% of Insight Kentucky’s customers are served by a two-way active, 750 MHz network. Additionally, approximately 99% of the systems’ customers are served by four headends.

          Summary statistics for the Kentucky systems are as follows:

          Louisville

          As of December 31, 2002, the Louisville system passed approximately 472,900 homes and served approximately 260,000 customers. Louisville is the 16th largest city in the United States and is Kentucky’s largest city.  It is located in the northern region of the state, bordering Indiana. Louisville is located within a day’s drive of nearly 50% of the United States population, which makes it an important crossroads for trade and business. Major employers in the Louisville metropolitan area include Humana, UPS, General Electric and Ford. The median household income for the area is approximately $39,800 while the median family income is approximately $48,300. Knology, Inc. obtained a franchise to provide cable television service in the City of Louisville, although it had not built a cable system as of December 31, 2002.

          The Louisville system substantially completed a network upgrade and we serve substantially all of our customers with two-way, 750 MHz cable.  The system is also in the final stage of headend consolidation, which will allow 99% of the customers in the system to be served from a single headend.

          InterMedia Capital Partners VI, LP launched its digital service in Louisville in November 1998. The service had approximately 85,600 customers in the Louisville system as of December 31, 2002.  We have migrated these customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and

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our video-on-demand service.  Digital phone service is available in over 73% of Louisville and our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service is available in the Louisville system.

          Lexington

          As of December 31, 2002, the Lexington system passed approximately 125,500 homes and served approximately 83,400 customers from a single headend. Lexington is Kentucky’s second largest city, located in the central part of the state. Major employers in the Lexington area include the University of Kentucky, Toyota and Lexmark International. The median household income for the area is approximately $40,000, while the median family income is approximately $50,700.

          As of December 31, 2002, over 34% of basic customers have subscribed to our interactive digital service.  Nearly 17% of basic customers have Insightbb.com high speed Internet service.  In addition, digital telephone service was launched in mid-year 2002 on a node-by-node basis with completion anticipated in 2003.

          The Lexington system has completed a network upgrade and we serve all of our customers with two-way, 750 MHz cable. Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service and Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and our video-on-demand service are available throughout the system.

          Covington

          As of December 31, 2002, the Covington system passed approximately 149,100 homes and served approximately 82,900 customers from a single headend. Covington is Kentucky’s fifth largest city. Major employers in the Covington area include Delta Airlines, Toyota, Citicorp, DHL, Ashland, Inc., Fidelity Investments, BICC General Cable Corporation, Omnicare, COMAIR, Levis Strauss, Gap, Inc., Mazak Corp., and R.A. Jones, Inc.  The median household income for the area is approximately $48,700, while the median family income is approximately $57,000.

          The Covington system has completed a network upgrade and we serve all of our customers with two-way, 750 MHz cable. Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service and interactive Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and our video-on-demand service are available in the Covington system.

          Bowling Green

          As of December 31, 2002, the Bowling Green system passed approximately 35,600 homes and served approximately 22,800 customers from a single headend. Bowling Green is located 120 miles south of Louisville, 110 miles southwest of Lexington and 70 miles north of Nashville, Tennessee. Bowling Green is the fourth largest city in Kentucky and is the home of Western Kentucky University.  Major employers in the Bowling Green area include General Motors, Fruit of the Loom, Commonwealth Health Corporation, DESA International and Houchens Industries. The median household income for the area is approximately $32,600, while the median family income is approximately $42,700.

          The Bowling Green system is fully upgraded to two-way, 750 MHz cable. Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service and Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product are available in Bowling Green.

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     The Illinois Systems

          The Illinois systems are owned and operated by Insight Communications Midwest, and were contributed to Insight Communications Midwest on January 5, 2001  We serve as manager of the Illinois systems. These systems are located primarily in mid-sized communities, including Springfield, Rockford, Peoria, Dixon and Champaign/Urbana. The Rockford system was contributed by us and the other Illinois systems were acquired from certain cable subsidiaries of AT&T Corp.

          In total, the Illinois systems passed approximately 687,800 homes and served approximately 413,700 customers as of December 31, 2002, making us the second largest operator of cable television systems in the State of Illinois. These systems are served by networks with approximately 6,000 miles having a capacity greater than or equal to 750 MHz, 1,400 miles having a capacity greater than or equal to 450 MHz and less than 750 MHz, and 220 miles having a capacity less than 450 MHz. Consistent with our strategy of expeditiously upgrading our network to facilitate the deployment of our enhanced products and services, we are continuing to upgrade the network of the Illinois systems and intend to completely migrate the digital customers to our Insight Digital service. We expect to invest approximately $14.1 million to substantially complete the upgrade of these systems, and expect that the upgrades will be substantially completed during the first half of 2003. In the interim, we will launch Insight Digital on a node-by-node basis as system upgrades are completed. We anticipate additional deployments of our video-on-demand service by the middle of 2003 in selected areas in the Illinois systems.

          The Illinois systems are organized in five management districts:

          The Rockford District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Rockford District passed approximately 131,600 homes and served approximately 78,400 customers. Rockford is Illinois’ second largest city. Major employers in the Rockford metropolitan area include Chrysler Corporation, Rockford Health System, Sundstrand Corporation and Swedish American Health Systems. The median household income for the area is approximately $36,500 per year, while the median family income is approximately $44,600 per year.

          We completed the upgrade of the Rockford system and began launching our Insight Digital service on a node-by-node basis as system upgrades were completed beginning in February 1999. Since launching our Insight Digital service in the Rockford system, the activated areas achieved approximately 24% digital penetration from its customers, with incremental revenue per digital customer of approximately $20 per month.  Our Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service is available throughout the district.

          The Peoria District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Peoria District passed approximately 200,800 homes and served approximately 124,200 customers, principally in the communities of Bloomington and Peoria. Bloomington is located in the north central part of the state. The Bloomington system is home to Illinois State University with over 20,000 students and Illinois Wesleyan University with over 2,000 students. Peoria is the fifth largest city in Illinois, located in the north central part of the state. Major employers in the Peoria area include Maytag, Gates Rubber and the headquarters of Caterpillar. The median household income for the area is approximately $41,400, while the median family income is approximately $54,000.

          The Peoria system is currently undergoing a network upgrade from 550 MHz to 860 MHz, which is expected to be substantially completed during 2003. As of December 31, 2002, the Peoria District

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achieved penetration levels for its digital service of nearly 21% in areas where digital service is available. We continue to migrate these customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and our video-on-demand service during 2003. The system has launched high-speed data service and has achieved penetration levels of over 11% as of December 31, 2002 in areas where the service is available.

          The Dixon District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Dixon District passed approximately 68,700 homes and served approximately 43,800 customers, principally in the communities of Rock Falls, Peru and Dixon. Dixon is located in the north/central part of the State of Illinois. Major employers in the Dixon area include the State of Illinois, Raynor Manufacturing Company and Borg Warner Automotive. The median household income for the area is approximately $36,400, while the median family income is approximately $46,600.

          Approximately 63% of the Dixon system currently operates with a 860 MHz network.  As of December 31, 2002, the district achieved penetration levels for its digital service of approximately 17% in areas where the service is available. We continue to migrate these customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and the Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service during 2003.

          The Springfield District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Springfield District passed approximately 187,900 homes and served approximately 115,300 customers, principally in the communities of Decatur and Springfield.  Springfield is the capital of Illinois and the sixth largest city in the state, located in the central part of the state. The major employer in the Springfield area is the State of Illinois. The median household income for the area is approximately $36,200, while the median family income is approximately $46,800. The City of Springfield is considering a municipal overbuild utilizing an existing plant owned by the city.

          The Springfield District is currently undergoing a network upgrade from 450 MHz to at least 750 MHz and two-way active. As of December 31, 2002, the district achieved penetration levels for its digital service of nearly 21% in the areas where the service is available. We continue to migrate these customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource product and our video-on-demand service. The system is currently rolling out the Insightbb.com high-speed Internet service on a node-by-node basis.

          The Champaign District

          As of December 31, 2002, the Champaign District passed approximately 98,800 homes and served approximately 52,000 customers. Champaign/Urbana is located in the eastern central part of the state. The Champaign District is home to the University of Illinois with over 45,000 students. Major employers in the Champaign and Urbana areas include the University of Illinois, Kraft Foods and the Carle Clinic Association. The median household income for the area is approximately $30,300 and the median family income for the area is approximately $47,600.

          The Champaign District serves substantially all of its customers by a two-way, 750 MHz network. The district had approximately 9,700 digital customers as of December 31, 2002. We continue to migrate these customers to our interactive Insight Digital service, including the LocalSource service and our video-on-demand service. The Champaign District has launched high-speed data service and as of December 31, 2002 had approximately 8,400 customers.

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     The Ohio System

          In connection with the AT&T transactions in January 2001, the common equity of Insight Communications of Central Ohio, LLC, the entity holding the Ohio system, was contributed to Insight Midwest. As of December 31, 2002, the Ohio system passed approximately 198,700 homes and served approximately 88,100 customers from a single headend. The system serves the eastern portion of the City of Columbus and adjacent suburban communities within eastern Franklin County and the contiguous counties of Delaware, Licking, Fairfield and Pickaway. The City of Columbus is the 34th largest designated market area, the capital of Ohio and the home of Ohio State University. In addition to the state government and university, the Columbus economy is well diversified with the significant presence of prominent companies such as The Limited, Merck, Wendy’s, Nationwide Insurance, Borden and Worthington Industries. The median household income for our service area is approximately $40,300 per year, while the median family income is approximately $50,600 per year.

          Approximately 91% of the Ohio system’s customers are served by a network upgraded to 870 MHz capacity, and our upgrade efforts are continuing. As of December 31, 2002, approximately 29,400 customers have subscribed to our interactive digital service, representing a penetration of nearly 36% in areas where digital service is available. The RoadRunner high-speed data service, launched in 2000, has achieved a penetration of 10% as of December 31, 2002 in areas where digital service is available. In addition, the Ohio system provides exclusive sports programming under the “Central Ohio Sport!” brand, featuring sporting events from Ohio State University.

          In 1996, Ameritech obtained a citywide cable television franchise for the City of Columbus and suburban communities in Franklin County. WideOpenWest acquired the assets of Ameritech in December 2001, and has built its citywide franchise, both in our service area and in the Time Warner service area on the west side of Columbus. We and Time Warner service virtually distinct areas and therefore do not compete with one another. The areas of the Ohio system served by both us and WideOpenWest pass approximately 129,100 homes, representing 65% of the Ohio system’s total homes passed as of December 31, 2002.

          We have launched a telephone service alternative to SBC (Ameritech) through our arrangement with Comcast Cable.

Customer Rates

          Rates charged to customers vary based on the market served and service selected. As of December 31, 2002, the weighted average revenue for our monthly combined basic and classic service was approximately $32.65.  The national average was estimated to be $32.85 for the same services as of December 31, 2002, as reported by Paul Kagan & Associates.

          A one-time installation fee, which we may reduce during promotional periods, is charged to new customers, as well as reconnected customers. We charge monthly fees for set top boxes and remote control devices. We also charge administrative fees for delinquent payments for service. Customers are free to discontinue service at any time without additional charge and may be charged a reconnection fee to resume service. Commercial customers, such as hotels, motels and hospitals, are charged negotiated monthly fees and a non-recurring fee for the installation of service. Multiple dwelling unit accounts may be offered a bulk rate in exchange for single-point billing and basic service to all units.

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Sales and Marketing

          Our strategy is to sell multiple services to our customers, including video, high-speed data and telephone services. Customers who purchase more than one service are eligible for a bundled discount.  We regularly use targeted campaigns to sell the appropriate services to both our existing and our potential customer base. Our customer service representatives are trained and given the support to use their daily contacts with customers as opportunities to sell our new service offerings.

          Due to the nature of the communities we serve, we are able to market our services in ways not typically used by urban cable operators. We can market products and services to our customers at our local offices where many of our customers pay their cable bills in person. Examples of our in-store marketing include the promotion of premium services as well as point-of-purchase demonstrations that will allow customers to experience our high-speed Internet service and digital products. We aggressively promote our services utilizing both broad and targeted marketing tactics, including outdoor billboards, outbound telemarketing, retail partnerships, direct mail, door-to-door sales, cross-channel promotion, print and broadcast.

          We build awareness of the Insight Communications brand through advertising campaigns and strong community relations. As a result of our branding efforts and consistent service standards, we believe we have developed a reputation for quality and reliability. We also believe that our marketing strategies are particularly effective due to our regional clustering and market significance, which enables us to reach a greater number of both current and potential customers in an efficient, uniform manner.

Programming Suppliers

          Most cable companies purchase their programming product directly from the program networks by entering into a contractual relationship with the program supplier. The vast majority of these program suppliers offer the cable operator license fee rate cards with size-based volume discounts and other financial incentives, such as launch and marketing support and cross-channel advertising.

          Currently there are over 160 cable networks competing for carriage on our analog and digital platforms. We have continued to leverage both our systems’ analog upgrades and newly deployed digital packages as an incentive to our suppliers to secure long term programming deals with reasonable price structures and other creative financial arrangements to offset license fee increases.

          Because of our relationship with Comcast Cable (formerly known as AT&T Broadband), we have the right to purchase certain programming services for our systems directly through Comcast Cable’s programming supplier Satellite Services, Inc. We believe that Satellite Services has attractive programming costs. Additionally, given the clustering of our systems in the Midwest, we have been successful in affiliating with regionally based programming products such as sports and news, at lower than average license fees.

          Under the terms of Insight Midwest’s partnership agreement, we and Comcast Cable are each required to use commercially reasonable efforts to extend to Insight Midwest all of the programming discounts available to us.  Accordingly, we should benefit from both the existing Satellite Services arrangement as well as additional discounts available to Comcast Cable.  However, we cannot predict with certainty when these benefits will occur, or the extent to which they actually will be achieved.

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Commitment to Community Relations

          We believe that maintaining strong community relations will continue to be an important factor in ensuring our long-term success. Our community-oriented initiatives include educational programs and the sponsorship of programs and events recognizing local citizens. In addition, members of our management team host community events for political and business leaders as well as representatives of the local media, where they discuss our operations and recent developments in the telecommunications industry. We have received numerous awards recognizing our ongoing community relations, and we believe that such initiatives result in consumer and governmental goodwill and name recognition, increasing customer loyalty and likely facilitating any future efforts to provide new communications services.

          We encourage all of our local management teams to take leadership roles in community and civic activities. Over the years, our systems have received various forms of recognition for their efforts to support local causes and charities as well as programs that encourage a better way of life in the communities they serve.

          All of our systems provide ongoing support for Cable in the Classroom, an industry initiative that earns recognition both locally and nationally for its efforts in furthering the education of children. Our newest public affairs initiative, “In the Know,” further underscores our commitment to education by offering the vast uses of high-speed Internet access into each accredited school in our service area. “In the Know” builds upon the cable industry’s pledge to provide free high-speed Internet access to eligible local schools and public libraries. We have taken that pledge a step further to offer students and teachers the resources of broadband content and robust cable programming to enrich the learning experience.

          With cable modems in the classroom, teachers and students alike can benefit from the speedy downloads and access to advanced applications to enhance the learning experience. In addition to providing this advanced technology free of charge, we intend to continue offering programming enhancements in partnership with various cable networks. As an increasing number of areas become serviceable for high-speed service, “In the Know” is designed to incorporate multi-faceted synergies with these programmers in order to provide specialized educational offerings for each of our systems.

          In 2001, our Louisville, Kentucky system partnered with Oxygen Media to form “The Young Women’s Technology Fellowship” as part of our “In the Know” efforts.  This program was a synergy of the common goals between Insight and Oxygen in order to address the issue of the digital divide through cable’s robust resources.  The Fellowship provided advanced training and resources to 12 motivated young women most in need.  This program received a great deal of recognition both locally and industry-wide, including a 2002 Beacon Award by the Cable Television Public Affairs Association.

          Building upon the success of our previous “In the Know” efforts, in 2002 we introduced a similar program in partnership with ESPN and the Boys &Girls Club in Anderson, Indiana. Also aimed at bridging the digital divide, this four-week online curriculum centered around the NCAA basketball tournament and incorporated online research skills with the technology of cable modem access.

          One of the advantages a local cable operator has over nationally distributed competitors is its ability to develop local programming. To further strengthen community relations and differentiate us from direct broadcast satellite television systems and other multichannel video providers, we provide locally produced and oriented programming. Several of our systems have full production capabilities, with in-house and/or mobile production studios to create local content. To attract viewers, we offer a broad range of local programming alternatives, including community information, local government proceedings and

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local specialty interest shows. In some of our markets, we are the exclusive broadcaster of local college and high school sporting events, which we believe provides unique programming and builds customer loyalty. We believe that our emphasis on local programming creates significant opportunities for increased advertising revenues. Locally originated programming will also play an integral role in the deployment of our new and enhanced products and services.

Franchises

          Cable television systems are constructed and operated under fixed-term non-exclusive franchises or other types of operating authorities that are granted by either local governmental or centralized state authorities. These franchises typically contain many conditions, such as:

 

Time limitations on commencement and completion of construction;

 

Conditions of service, including the number of channels, the provision of free service to schools and other public institutions;

 

The maintenance of insurance and indemnity bonds; and

 

The payment of fees to communities.

 

 

 

 

 

These local franchises are subject to limits imposed by federal law.

          As of December 31, 2002, we held 548 franchises in the aggregate, consisting of 196 in Indiana, 195 in Kentucky, 124 in Illinois, 29 in Ohio and 4 in Georgia. Many of these franchises require the payment of fees to the issuing authorities of 3% to 5% of gross revenues, as defined by each franchise agreement, from the related cable system.

          The 1984 Cable Act prohibits franchising authorities from imposing annual franchise fees in excess of 5% of gross annual revenues and also permits the cable television system operator to seek renegotiation and modification of franchise requirements if warranted by changed circumstances that render performance commercially impracticable.

          The following table summarizes information relating to the year of expiration of our franchises, excluding the managed systems, as of December 31, 2002:

Year of
Franchise Expiration

 

Number of
Franchises

 

Percentage of
Total Franchises

 

Number of
Basic Customers

 

Percentage of Total
Basic Customers

 


 


 



 



 



 

Expired*
 

 

37

 

 

6.8

%

 

91,000

 

 

7.0

%

2003
 

 

49

 

 

8.9

 

 

29,600

 

 

2.3

 

2004
 

 

38

 

 

6.9

 

 

98,400

 

 

7.6

 

2005
 

 

40

 

 

7.3

 

 

49,400

 

 

3.8

 

2006
 

 

35

 

 

6.4

 

 

38,600

 

 

3.0

 

After 2006
 

 

349

 

 

63.7

 

 

995,000

 

 

76.4

 

*  Such franchises are operated on a month-to-month basis and are in the process of being renewed.

          The Communications Act of 1934, as amended, provides, among other things, for an orderly franchise renewal process which limits a franchising authority’s ability to deny a franchise renewal if the incumbent operator follows prescribed renewal procedures. In addition, the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, established comprehensive renewal procedures which require, when properly elected by an operator, that an incumbent franchisee’s renewal application be assessed on its own merits and not as part of a comparative process with competing applications.