WASHINGTON -- The Washington Post Company and Marcus Cable today announced that Cable One, Inc., a Post subsidiary, has signed a contract to purchase the assets of systems in Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma serving approximately 71,500 subscribers.

The systems being acquired include Pascagoula, Brookhaven, McComb, and Natchez, MS; Elk City and Clinton, OK; Pampa, Borger, and Dumas, TX; and surrounding communities.

The largest system, Pascagoula, MS, is adjacent to Cable One's largest existing operation on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. The acquisition of the Pascagoula system will bring Cable One's total subscriber count in that area to 90,000. Including 23,000 other Marcus subscribers being acquired in Mississippi, Cable One's total subscriber base in the state will be 161,000, which is about one--third of Mississippi's total cable subscribers.

The 18,000 subscribers in the Texas panhandle and the 7,000 subscribers in western Oklahoma add to an existing 11--system Cable One concentration in that area.

The Washington Post Company also announced, with Classic Communications, that in a separate but related transaction, Cable One has reached an agreement in principle with an affiliate of Classic to sell the assets of 14 small systems, currently owned by Cable One, with 28,000 subscribers in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas.

"These two transactions, when combined, further our strategy to increase our holdings of larger cable systems in non--urban markets and to develop regional clusters of systems," said Alan G. Spoon, president of The Washington Post Company.

"The execution of our previously announced plan to divest certain non--core systems continues to move forward," said Jeffrey A. Marcus, chairman and chief executive officer of Marcus Cable. "Cable One is a very well managed company with strong ownership through The Washington Post and an excellent reputation in the industry. I am confident that our customers will continue to be well served under the management of Cable One."

"We are excited about the people that have been a part of Cable One's excellence in the cable television business," said Merritt Belisle, chief executive officer of Classic Communications. "The quality of the systems we are acquiring shows the commitment of Cable One's people, and we will continue the tradition of outstanding customer service."

Classic Communications has 165,000 subscribers in smaller systems near the systems being sold.

Cable One currently serves approximately 640,000 subscribers in 17 midwestern, western, and southern states.

Contact:
Thomas O. Might
(602) 553-7701