Comcast buys Patriot for $483 million

Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S., announced Tuesday plans to gobble up the privately held, regional cable company Patriot Media and Communications for $483 million cash.

The deal gives Comcast 81,000 new video subscribers in central New Jersey, a region that is a perfect complement to Comcast's existing service area around its home base of Philadelphia. Pending regulatory approval, Comcast expects to close the deal sometime in the third quarter.

While the deal is by no means huge, it is a sign that Comcast is still bulking up. The news comes one day after Comcast announced it would take control of 50 percent of Insight Communications' subscriber base. Insight is the ninth-largest cable operator in the country, with a network clustered in four states: Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.