Cable One names Astound, Comcast executive Holanda as its new CEO
Key Highlights
- Jim Holanda, with over 35 years of cable industry experience, is set to become Cable One’s new CEO in late March, bringing a focus on growth and innovation.
- Holanda’s prior roles include CEO of Astound Broadband and leadership positions at Comcast and Charter Communications, equipping him with deep industry expertise.
- Cable One is addressing challenges like customer churn by realigning products, introducing new offerings, and expanding into mobile services with Sparklight Mobile.
- The company is investing in fiber-to-the-home technology and forming strategic partnerships to enhance its broadband infrastructure and service portfolio.
- Leadership transitions include Julia Laulis’s retirement, Todd Koetje’s interim CEO role, and Mary Meduski’s election as Independent Chair, signaling a strategic shift.
With more than 35 years of experience working in the cable and broadband industry, Holanda joins Cable One from Astound Broadband, where he was the Chief Executive Officer for the last 15 years. Before his tenure at Astound and its predecessors, Holanda was CEO of Choice Cable TV of Puerto Rico and, before that, President of Patriot Media in Central New Jersey. He
He began his career at Comcast, where he spent 10 years, followed by five years at Charter Communications, where he held various accounting, finance, business and operations roles. Holanda holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio State University.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to join Cable One as CEO and lead the company in its mission of enabling its customers to thrive and stay connected to what matters most,” said Holanda in a release announcing his new role. “I look forward to working alongside the Board, leadership team, and all of the Cable One associates to unlock future growth opportunities, continue to innovate, and fiercely compete in the current dynamic market environment.
New challenges, opportunities ahead
Holanda’s move to Cable One comes at a time when Cable One, like other cable operators, is seeking ways to differentiate itself from fiber overbuilders and fixed wireless access (FWA) competitors. This trend was on display in the third quarter.
A key challenge he will have to address is how to turn around churn in Cable One’s broadband business.
During the third quarter, Cable One’s residential data revenues decreased by $2.8 million, or 1.2% year over year, driven by a 5.1% decline in subscribers, partially offset by a 3.2% increase in ARPU. On a sequential quarterly basis, residential data revenues declined by 0.8%.
Cable One has moved to not only align products with customer needs, but also to advance a new customer segmentation strategy. The service provider has updated its pricing and introduced a slate of new offerings, including its low-cost Lift product, designed for households that previously received discounted service under the FCC’s now-defunct Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The cable operator is also seeing growing momentum around its multi-gig speed products.
In addition to realigning its customer segmentation, Cable One, like Astound, has entered the mobile services space with the launch of its unlimited Sparklight Mobile service, with plans starting at $25 per line in select markets. Cable One has joined a host of cable companies—including Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Optimum Communications, Mediacom Communications, Breezeline, Midco, TDS, Omni Fiber, WideOpenWest, TVS Cable, Allo, and Schurz Communications—that now offer mobile service.
While Holanda will likely focus on reducing broadband customer churn, the cable industry veteran can build on Cable One’s established consumer and business customer base by offering targeted new services to stand out in a crowded broadband market that will remain challenged by fiber overbuilders and FWA.
Astound’s ongoing evolution
Holanda joins Cable One with extensive experience driving new network evolutions in the cable industry—skills he will likely apply to his new role.
While every cable MSO is in a different stage, Hollanda’s tenure at Astound marks a time when the cable MSO took on the challenge of building and upgrading over 800,000 homes in its territory with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology.
A key focus of Astound’s fiber broadband drive is partnering with public and private entities to equip hard-to-serve, underserved communities, such as Tillamook, Oregon, with fiber-based broadband. In this deployment, the new network brings fiber-based broadband to nearly 300 homes in Oregon’s rural Tillamook County for the first time.
Additionally, Astound deepened its technology and content partnerships with key industry players, including T-Mobile, eero, and DIRECTV.
By establishing a partnership with T-Mobile, Astound demonstrates the cable industry’s shift toward offering converged wireless and wireline services. In June 2023, Astound Broadband debuted its Astound Mobile service. Leveraging T-Mobile’s network, Astound’s mobile product offers two “pay by the gig” plans and two unlimited talk and text plans tha consumers can bundle with Astound’s internet service.
For its part, Astound noted in a press release that it has hired a new CEO, who will be announced and step into the role in the first quarter of 2026. The company said the new CEO appointment follows a thorough search for a candidate with deep experience in residential and enterprise broadband across large, diverse metropolitan markets nationwide.
As part of this transition, John Feehan, Astound EVP and CFO, has been appointed as Interim CEO, effective immediately, and will serve in this capacity until the company’s new CEO assumes the role next year.
The new permanent CEO will build on Astound’s momentum by expanding its fiber-powered network and further enhancing the customer experience through investments in operations and new products, particularly following the successful completion of its comprehensive refinancing and the securing of over $400 million in new equity and debt capital, announced in July.
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