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Just because they service the same city doesn't mean they overlap coverage area. Many RBOC and Cable lines cut across city boundaries. Most of the boundaries were in place when cities were allowed to grant exclusive franchise rights to cable providers in order to entice them to provide service.

And although deregulation did away from allowing cities to provide exclusive rights, very few cable companies are willing to pay to fight the entrenched interests.

They overlap... I just switched to Time Warner from Comcast.

In my neighborhood I can choose between them. I believe Brighthouse owns the lines, but I can get Comcast service over them.

The parent was referencing the merger. There's no competition with oneself.

Just FYI, Brighthouse is no longer affiliated with Time Warner Cable, they're a separate entity owned by Advance Newhouse.