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Greensboro News Record

By MICHELLE JARBOE Staff Writer

Time Warner could pick up 126,000 new cable subscribers in North Carolina and South Carolina by the end of the month.

And the cable giants local division, based in Greensboro, is set to gain thousands of subscribers in areas including Davie, Surry and Stokes counties.

Its not a new promotion or service thats causing this spike in cable subscribers.

Time Warner simply is expected to benefit from a competitors loss.

Last week, federal regulators approved the $17.6 billion sale of the bankrupt Adelphia Communications to Time Warner and Comcast . The two cable companies plan to pluck subscribers from the Adelphia pool and shuffle some of their own to gain stronger grips on regional markets.

The deal will bring Time Warner 3.5 million new cable customers nationwide. The Adelphia sale is likely to close about July 31.

The companys top gains will be in markets such as the Los Angeles area, where Time Warners market share will grow from 15 percent to about 75 percent, spokesman Mark Harrad said.

In smaller markets such as the Piedmont Triad, Time Warner will see slighter gains. Local company officials guessed about a year ago that an Adelphia bankruptcy buyout would bring them about 14,000 customers.

Were not going to know until we actually take control, local spokesman Buck Yarborough said.

The company has set no timeline for completing its takeover and any necessary upgrades of the Adelphia systems.

Yarborough said making the change in cable providers wont be as simple as flicking a switch. But he hopes it will be as painless as possible for subscribers.

Adelphia subscribers can visit www.twcusoon.com and enter their ZIP code to find out more about the transition.

Contact Michelle Jarboe at 373-7075 or mjarboe@news-record.com

(c) 2006 Greensboro News Record. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.