Service Electric is a group of affiliated

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

companies serving eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and western

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. Service Electric also offers broadband Internet and telephone services through two partner companies, PenTeleData and Alianza.

Current affiliate systems

Service Electric Cable TV and Communications

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, Pennsylvania, Hunterdon and Warren counties in New Jersey *

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

and surrounding communities in Luzerne County

Service Electric Cablevision

* Birdsboro, Pennsylvania and surrounding communities in Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties *

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...

and surrounding communities in Northumberland, Montour, Columbia, Snyder, and Union counties *

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Dece ...

and surrounding communities in Luzerne, Schuylkill, Carbon, Columbia and Northumberland counties

Former affiliate systems

Service Electric Broadband Cable

* Sussex County, north Warren County

History

The company was started in 1948 in Mahanoy City by

John Walson John Walson Sr. (1915-1993), from Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, is recognized by the U.S. Congress and the National Cable Television Association as having invented cable TV in the spring of 1948, although this is disputed. Biography Walson, owne ...

, who owned a

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

appliance store. At the time, the surrounding mountains in Schuylkill County made over-the-air reception from Philadelphia television stations difficult. Walson, who was interested in selling television sets through his store, 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. Although there are others who have laid claim to the honor, Walson is often recognized for having built the first cable TV system in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Until Walson's death, the company was known as Service Electric Cable TV, Inc., which was based in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

. 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 to Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, which is currently based in Bethlehem, and services the Greater Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre in PA, and Hunterdon and Warren Counties in NJ. On February 18, 2011 the Service Electric Cablevision affiliate acquired CATV Service Inc. based in

Danville, Pennsylvania Danville is a borough in and the county seat of Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The population was 4,221 at the census. Danville is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. ...

. The cable system in Mahanoy City became a 'sister company' to Service Electric Cable TV & Communications, taking the name "Service Electric Cablevision" - serving Birdsboro, Hazleton, and Sunbury, PA. The Cablevision corporate office is located in Allentown. 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, a cable, phone and internet provider based in Long Island City, Queens, acquired Service Electric Cable TV of New Jersey, servicing Sussex County, NJ, for $150 million.

Service Electric Network (SEN)

The company's Lehigh Valley system operates Service Electric Network (SEN), a local origination cable

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ea ...

. Service Electric Network carries local news and sports, including coverage of East Penn Conference. high school

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, boys and girls

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

, as well as several

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

football games. In 2008, Service Electric Network began carrying home games of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the AAA-level Minor League affiliate of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The games are televised from Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. Service Electric Network also carries home games of the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey L ...

, the AHL affiliate of the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. The station has also added coverage of the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spel ...

, the Philadelphia Phillies' AA-level minor league affiliateFybush, Scott
NERW Special: Baseball on the Radio
''NorthEast Radio Watch''. Retrieved 2011-04-04. as well as

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

affiliate

Bethlehem Steel FC Philadelphia Union II is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. T ...

. The network rebranded to Service Electric Network from TV2 Sports in May of 2020.

Market Environment

In the Lehigh Valley, an "overbuild" environment exists in many communities in which subscribers can choose between two competing cable television providers. Service Electric and RCN offer similar, though not duplicative, programming packages. In most other areas served by one of Service Electric's family of companies, they are the only viable provider.

References

External links

Service Electric Cable TV & CommunicationsService Electric CablevisionService Electric Broadband CableArticle on Service Electric traffic cameras
{{CATV USA Cable television companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1948 Companies based in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Bethlehem, Pennsylvania American companies established in 1948 1948 establishments in Pennsylvania