Rocco Commisso, a banker turned cable television executive who founded Mediacom and helped reshape telecommunications service in smaller American markets, died after a prolonged period of medical treatment, the company said late Friday evening.
Commisso was 76. The trade publication Cablefax was the first to report on his death.
Commisso founded Mediacom in 1995, at a time when the cable industry was consolidating around major metropolitan areas. His strategy was deliberately different: to build a company focused on rural communities and mid-sized towns that were often overlooked by larger operators.
The approach proved durable: Mediacom grew into the fifth-largest cable company in the United States, serving more than three million households and businesses across 22 states. The company remains wholly owned by the Commisso family, and Commisso served as the Chairman of the Board and the company’s CEO until his death.
Born in Calabria, Italy, Commisso immigrated to the United States at age 12 and was raised in the Bronx. He graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1967 and went on to Columbia University, where he earned both his undergraduate degree and an M.B.A. His early professional career included work at Pfizer in Brooklyn before he shifted into finance.
Commisso later joined Cablevision, rising to become its Chief Financial Officer and a member of its board. Following Cablevision’s $2.2 billion sale to Time Warner, he launched Mediacom, betting that deregulation and demand for connectivity would favor disciplined investment in underserved regions.
In a 2023 interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Commisso credited the United States with offering him opportunity unavailable elsewhere.
“That’s the beauty of America,” he said.
Within the telecommunications industry, Commisso was widely recognized for his influence. He was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and served on the boards of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and C-SPAN.
In a statement on Saturday, ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer called Commisso a “pioneering entrepreneur whose nearly five-decade career helped shape the modern cable and broadband industry.”
“Through the founding and growth of Mediacom, Rocco built a company that brought advanced communications services to millions of homes and businesses,” Spellmeyer said via e-mail. “His vision, leadership, and long-term commitment to his company and employees leave a lasting mark on our industry. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Commisso family and the entire Mediacom team during this difficult time.”
Though best known for his cable career, Commisso also maintained a lifelong connection to soccer, acquiring the New York Cosmos in 2017 and later purchasing Italy’s ACF Fiorentina. Even so, it was his enduring impact on American telecommunications, particularly in rural markets, that defined his professional legacy.
