Time Warner would rather grow through acquisitions than be bought by billionaire John Malone, and has been eyeing Cablevision, its most coveted target, and No.3 cable operator Cox Cable, according to sources.

The second-largest US cable operator with more than 12 million subscribers, Time Warner, has contacted both companies in recent months to discuss options including a merger, according to one of the people, although in neither case have the talks progressed to any serious consideration of a transaction. The source did not say how recent the talks were.

New York-based Cablevision, the No. 5 cable operator, and Georgia-based Cox are controlled by families that have so far shown no interest in selling, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Cablevision's founding Dolan family controls 72.9 per cent of the company's stock, according to its proxy statement. Privately held Cox Enterprises is also family-controlled.

Malone, whose Liberty Media owns a 27 per cent stake in cable operator Charter Communications, is working out options to acquire Time Warner Cable, according to published reports.

Time Warner Cable chief executive Glenn Britt is not interested in a Charter merger, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Since cable pioneer Malone jumped backed into the US cable market with Liberty Media's investment in Charter earlier this year, analysts have predicted a wave of cable consolidation. The US cable TV market is mature and faces rising programming costs.-Reuters