20th Anniversary Edition

Mark Robichaux

Cable Cowboy

JOHN MALONE and the rise of the modern cable-TV business

Cable Cowboy, first published in 2002, tells the story of John Malone’s early and unpredictable rise to become the leader of the cable-TV industry. Born in a small town in Connecticut, he climbed his way through Yale, the legendary Bell Labs, McKinsey & Co., then befriended a deep-in-debt cowboy who would become his best friend and business partner. Told in a lively style with exclusive details, the story shows how an unassuming strand of copper coaxial cable wire started as a backwoods antenna service and became the digital nervous system of the U.S., an evolution that gave U.S. consumers television, telephone and the fastest route to the Internet. 

Reviews & Praise

Landing Page Reviews

Robichaux pens an account that is part Horatio Alger success story and part cautionary tale…Malone is a complicated hero; focused and driven, he built his empire largely through clever, complicated financing deals…

Publishers Weekly

Robichaux has provided a smart assessment of the cable industry through the wild narrative of John Malone… and turned it into a tale that manages to be both colorful and informative.

Walter Isaacson

John Malone’s remarkable climb [is] a tale worthy of a great cinematic Western. For the first time, we get a sharp picture of the man behind the mogul, an unflinching portrait of one of the business world’s sharpest deal-makers. I dare you to put it down.

Tom King

With skill and precision, author Mark Robichaux paints a portrait of a man who is both fox and lamb, cunningly ruthless and surprisingly genuine. We get to watch a man who plays chess against opponents who merely play checkers. And we get a really good read.

Ken Auletta

The insider access gives the book an intimate feel and introduces readers to one of the smartest men in the media business.

The Denver Post

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About the Author

Mark Robichaux is an author and journalist. As a reporter for the Wall Street Journal for more than a decade through the 1990s, he covered the cable-TV business, start-ups and a variety of topics for Page One, including acquisitions, alligator farming, cable-TV pirates, and invasive species. He was the editor of Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable magazines, and covered local city government for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Missouri - Columbia journalism school.