Comcast founder Ralph Roberts dies at 95 - USA TODAY
Ralph Roberts, an advertising executive whose small cable operator in Mississippi became the nation's largest provider of pay-TV and Internet broadband — Comcast — died of natural causes Thursday night in Philadelphia. Roberts, whose son, Brian, is chairman and CEO of Comcast, was a business heavyweight in Philadelphia, where Comcast is based. While retired, he was chairman emeritus of Comcast's board of directors. In 1963, Roberts bought a 1,200-subscriber cable TV operator in Tupelo, Miss. While serving 27 million cable customers, Comcast also owns NBCUniversal, TV stations, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. A Comcast subsidiary, Comcast-Spectacor, owns the local hockey team, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the sports arena where the team plays, the Wells Fargo Center. The unit also owned the Philadelphia 76ers before selling the NBA team in 2011. Before entering the cable business, Roberts was CEO of Pioneer Industries, a men's clothing accessories company. In 2006, Roberts and his family helped establish the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn Medicine. Source: www.usatoday.com
