Cable television pioneer
Glenn Jones, honoree for the 2005 Cable Television Hall of Fame.
Glenn R. Jones borrowed $400 against his Volkswagen in 1967 and turned it into a cable television empire that influences the way we learn today.
In a career that spanned five decades, Jones built Jones Intercable into one of the 10 largest cable television operators in the U.S. He later founded what would become the first online university to receive accreditation, Jones International University.
“Glenn was a man before his time,” said Stacey Slaughter, CEO of Jones/NCTI, one of Jones’ many companies. “He transformed the communications, information, entertainment and educational landscape by bringing cable television to millions of Americans. He freed higher education from the brick walls of traditional universities by bringing learning to people in their own homes, first via cable and later through the Internet and mobile devices.
“While the word visionary is often overused, it’s a perfect description for Glenn.”
The Denver cable television legend and distance-education pioneer died Tuesday at age 85. Services were still pending Tuesday evening.
A graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, Jones began working in the cable television industry in 1961, representing cable companies in their acquisition efforts.
He purchased his first cable system in 1967 in Georgetown — with the help of the loan against his car — an effort that served as the genesis of his cable operations company, Jones Intercable. The company sold in 1999 to Comcast.
Just two weeks ago, Jones was riding an all-terrain vehicle in the mountains near Steamboat Springs, recalls fellow vacationer and cable pioneer John V. Saeman.
“He looked so healthy when we were up there for four days. We played gin rummy, he worked on a crossword puzzle. We went fishing,” said Saeman, who first met Jones in the mid 1960s when the two worked at Daniels & Associates, which became the investment arm of cable magnate Bill Daniels who is often called “the father of cable television.” Read more
