Policyband

Armstrong Buying MCTV in Ohio from the Gessner Family

MCTV was started by Richard and Susan Gessner in 1965 and remained in the family for 61 years.

Ted Hearn

Feb 18, 2026 — 8 min read

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Merger: Armstrong and Massillon Cable (MCTV) announced Tuesday that they have entered into a definitive purchase agreement for Armstrong to acquire MCTV, uniting a pair of family-owned companies under one firm. “We could not be more pleased to be welcoming MCTV customers and employees to the Armstrong family,” said Armstrong Group CEO Dru Sedwick. “The joining of these two companies is something that makes perfect sense. We continue to believe strongly in this industry.” Armstrong is based in Butler, Pa. and MCTV in Massillon, Ohio. The addition of MCTV will expand Armstrong’s scale and footprint in the Ohio and West Virginia regions. “We will add more than 96,000 passings to the Armstrong footprint, which means more homes and businesses across six states will have access to our premier fiber network,” said Armstrong President Jeff Ross. Armstrong said the merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. Terms were not disclosed. MCTV was founded by Richard (Dick) Gessner and his wife Susan in 1965. Their son Robert eventually became President. In 2019, Robert handed the reins to his daughter Katherine, who is MCTV’s current President. (More after paywall)