Warner-Amex

"For example, a half dozen companies spent $500,000 each preparing bids in 1980 for the Dallas franchise, one of the largest in play at the time, with four hundred thousand homes in a city busting at the seams. The franchise ultimately went to Warner-Amex, which had touted its new interactive QUBE system, and promised eighty channels, including channels for city government and schools. (True to the times, Warner-Amex officials had worked with police to arrest someone who had offered to sell them information to win the franchise.) Even after it was awarded, Sammons Communications, covetous of such a big win, contested the decision and tried unsuccessfully to reverse it by gathering signatures for a referendum."

"We borrowed every penny, and within two years—thanks to JC’s crew and regional manager Marion Nowak—we had it running on its own cash. Leverage dropped fast—we had essentially bought the cable system with its own cash flow. We would do the same thing buying the Dallas franchise from Warner-Amex."