Charter, Cox Strike $34.5 Billion Deal to Merge to Create Cable Behemoth

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Charter, Cox Strike $34.5 Billion Merger Deal to Create Cable Behemoth

Charter and Cox, two of the nation's biggest cable companies, agreed to merge at a time when cable is increasing out of favor among consumers

variety.com

https://variety.com/t/charter-communications/

Under terms of the deal, Charter will acquire Cox Communications’ commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud businesses, and Cox Enterprises will contribute Cox Communications’ residential cable business to Charter Holdings, an existing subsidiary partnership of Charter. Within a year after the closing, the combined company will change its name to Cox Communications. Charter’s Spectrum will become the consumer-facing brand within the communities Cox serves. The combined company will remain headquartered in Stamford, CT, and will maintain a significant presence on Cox’s Atlanta, GA campus following the closing, the companies said.

This deal comes as customers switch from cable to streaming TV. The deal between Cox and Charter is commercial fiber, cloud and it services. If and when completed the merged companies will take Cox Communication name.

 

[NYAZSporty]

This would create a cable TV monopoly in Southern California as portions of Orange County which were served by Cox will now be like the rest of the Los Angeles area under Spectrum & much of San Diego County, where Cox is the main provider, will be Spectrum there too. Also, Dodgers fans in those areas north of SD county that didn't switch out, will soon get SportsNet LA which to this day hasn't reached a deal with Cox. As an AZ resident & someone who moved out of NYC a few yrs. back & was subscribing to Spectrum while there, hope the NYC-type prices for Cable/Internet/Phone don't come here, especially since we don't have a full time RSN to really boost the monthly fee for cable when most sports fans will respond in kind if they do by cutting the cord & getting an antenna and/or have an internet subscription like we have with the D'backs.

 

[TheBigA]

This would create a cable TV monopoly in Southern California as portions of Orange County which were served by Cox will now be like the rest of the Los Angeles area under Spectrum & much of San Diego County, where Cox is the main provider, will be Spectrum there too.

My homies hate Spectrum. They've already looked into T-Mobile and AT&T as options. Starlink is also available. As we've noted, traditional cable is declining in subscribers. People are seeking out alternatives. Frontier is also available.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I have Spectrum only for internet, having lost interest in cable networks well over a decade ago. (I do quite well with my TiVo which has four ATSC tuners in it.)

They keep trying to sell me on home and mobile phone, but I do just fine with my Ooma box plugged into a port on my router and with my AARP-discounted Consumer Cellular service.

 

[yeoldeschool]

They keep trying to sell me on home and mobile phone, but I do just fine with my Ooma box plugged into a port on my router and with my AARP-discounted Consumer Cellular service.

Do they still honor the early generations of their boxes that had no monthly fees attached?

 

[Don CT]

Do they still honor the early generations of their boxes that had no monthly fees attached?

I doubt it.

 

[secondchoice]

Do they consider "naked" DSL the traditional phone company can provide as completion? I knew a station that uses it for a STL at a site where there is no cable and there a hill in the way that make a microwave STL non workable

 

[gr8oldies]

My homies hate Spectrum. They've already looked into T-Mobile and AT&T as options. Starlink is also available. As we've noted, traditional cable is declining in subscribers. People are seeking out alternatives. Frontier is also available.

I have Comcast and can't wait for the city's municipal broadband to get to my neighborhood