 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1948; 77 years ago (1948) inMahanoy City, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Headquarters | 2260 Avenue A,Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Products | Cable television,cable telephony,internet service provider |
| Owner | Service Electric Cable TV and Communications |
| Website | sectv |
Service Electric is a group of affiliatedcable television companies serving easternPennsylvania and westernNew Jersey, United States. The company is headquartered inBethlehem, Pennsylvania in theLehigh Valley.
Service Electric also offers broadband Internet and telephone services through PenTeleData and Alianza, both of which are partner companies.[1]
The company was started in 1948 inMahanoy City, Pennsylvania byJohn Walson, who owned aGeneral Electric appliance store. At the time, the surrounding mountains inSchuylkill County made over-the-air reception fromPhiladelphia television stations difficult. Walson was interested in selling television sets through his store, and solved the problem by building an antenna on top of the mountain overlooking the town. He initially ran a cable to his warehouse and then to his appliance store, using boosters to enhance the signal. Along the way, he hooked up neighbors to the antenna system.[2] Although there are others who have laid claim to the honor, Walson is often recognized for having built the firstcable TV system in the United States.[3] Until Walson's death, the company was known as Service Electric Cable TV, Inc., which was based inBethlehem.
In early 2011, Service Electric commenced offloading cable systems from its Service Electric Cable Company affiliate. Service Electric Cable TV, Inc. was composed of three divisions, eventually becoming Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, Service Electric Cable TV of New Jersey, and Service Electric Cablevision.
The cable system in Wilkes-Barre and vicinity moved operations toService Electric Cable TV & Communications, which is currently based inBethlehem, Pennsylvania, and services theLehigh Valley andNortheastern Pennsylvania regions inPennsylvania, andHunterdon andWarren counties inNew Jersey.
On February 18, 2011 theService Electric Cablevision affiliate acquired CATV Service Inc., based inDanville, Pennsylvania. The cable system in Mahanoy City became a sister company to Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, taking the nameService Electric Cablevision and servingBirdsboro,Hazleton, and Sunbury. John E. Walson, eldest son of John Walson, ran Service Electric Cable TV, Inc. for 38 years until his death in August 2012. John M. Walson has taken over the role of president since his father's death.
On July 13, 2020,Altice USA, a cable, phone, and internet provider headquartered inLong Island City, New York, acquired Service Electric Cable TV of New Jersey, which servicedSussex County, New Jersey, for $150 million.[4]
The company'sLehigh Valley system operates Service Electric Network (SEN), alocal origination cabletelevision station. Service Electric Network carries local news and sports, including coverage ofEast Penn Conference high schoolfootball, boys' and girls'basketball, andwrestling, and someLehigh University football games.
In 2008, Service Electric Network began carrying home games of theLehigh Valley IronPigs, the AAA-level Minor League affiliate of thePhiladelphia Phillies.[5] The games are televised fromCoca-Cola Park inAllentown.[6] Service Electric Network also carries home games of theLehigh Valley Phantoms, theAHL affiliate of thePhiladelphia Flyers. The station has added coverage of theReading Phillies, the Philadelphia Phillies' AA-level minor league baseball affiliate,[7] andBethlehem Steel FC soccer games. The network rebranded asService Electric Network fromTV2 Sports in May 2020.
In theLehigh Valley, an overbuild environment exists in many communities in which subscribers can choose between two competing cable television providers. Service Electric andRCN offer similar but not duplicative programming packages. InWilkes-Barre, Service Electric competes with newcomerLoop Internet, a local internet service provider specializing infiber-optic communication includinginternet andtelephone. Despite not offering cable television plans, Loop competes with Service Electric by offering faster Internet plans as well asVOIP telephone services. In most other areas served by one of Service Electric's family of companies, the company is the only viable provider.