Telecential Explained

Telecential was a cable TV provider based in Hemel Hempstead,^[1] Hertfordshire. It was notable for running one of the first community-based TV stations, West Herts TV, and for developing cable television services in Reading, Berkshire. Later on, they expanded their network to Bletchley now a part of Milton Keynes Borough, though since the network has lain abandoned as of 2019, it is unclear if it was ever switched on; Northamptonshire (through their acquisition of County Cable) and Swindon (through their acquisition of Swindon Cable). Telecential was jointly owned by CUC Broadcasting Ltd. and Telus.

Timeline of consolidation

• Telecential were bought by Comtel with its HQ in Wokingham^[2]
• Comtel were bought by Cabletel with its HQ in Hook, Hampshire
• Cabletel rebranded as NTL
• NTL merged with Telewest branded as ntl: Telewest
• ntl: Telewest bought Virgin Mobile and, separately, re-branded as Virgin Media
• Virgin Media was later acquired by Liberty Global in 2013. Liberty Global was a successor to TCI, one of the founders of Telecential, bringing the consolidation full-circle.

Notes and References

1. http://www.radioverulam.com/public/files/1183124407.doc The original idea for a Community Radio station for St Albans came from Clive Glover, derived from his experience in hospital radio at the City Hospital in the 1980s.
2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB898014199400178000?mod=googlewsj "Britain's NTL Agrees to Acquire Three Cable Firms for $1.55 Billion"