In Comcast-Time Warner Cable Deal, How Brian Roberts Bested Mentor John Malone

Alarm bells went off at Charter Communications when e-mails and phone calls to executives at Comcast went unanswered. Charter had been hot to buy Time Warner Cable. Cable legend John Malone, who controls Charter's largest shareholder, and Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts had talked several times by phone, including around Christmas. Roberts indicated he was willing to work together on a deal for the struggling company, according to people familiar with the talks. It was a high point in a sometimes competitive relationship that harked back decades, to when Malone -- now chairman of Liberty Media -- had become a mentor to Roberts. In recent months, said people familiar with the discussions, Malone's efforts to consolidate the cable industry through Liberty-backed Charter had drawn Roberts into the TWC fray.

The irony is that the 54-year-old Roberts is now implementing a strategy most publicly articulated by Malone, 72, who had seen Charter as a vehicle to consolidate the cable industry, targeting TWC. Even before his interest in TWC became public, Malone told investors that cable operators could do better exerting their power as broadband providers by working together.