Items tagged with charter
For a long time, cable and satellite TV providers had customers in a vice grip. If someone wanted to watch premium channels, it was cable/satellite TV or bust. Like so many other things, the internet changed the game, and these days an increasing number of people are cutting the cord, as they say. With more streaming options available (and on the horizon), companies like AT&T and Charter Spectrum could feel the squeeze. Netflix and Hulu are the first two that come to mind, though they're far from the only options. CBS All Access is another streaming option, as are Sling TV and YouTube. The field is expanding, too—Disney recently launched it Disney+ service, and Apple rolled out its...
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For a long time, big cable companies like Charter and Comcast were trying everything to prevent cord cutters from ditching cable TV programming packages and going with internet-only offerings. Those times have passed as the big cable companies, who are also often the only broadband internet providers in an area, have become indifferent on cable subscribers and have stopped offering the discounts customers were previously accustomed to. As the big cable companies are backing off on their discounts for plans, they are also increasing prices on their cable TV subscribers. Bloomberg mentions one subscriber who called Charter when his bill went up $40 monthly. Charter refused to offer any discounts...
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Charter is not making many friends in high places in New York. Just the opposite, the New York State Public Service Commission announced it has revoked its approval of a 2016 merger between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable (TWC) due to Charter, doing business as Spectrum, wavering on promises it made, along with "various instances of misconduct." One of the times the Commission noted in its revocation announcement is a 2017 lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. In the lawsuit, the AG accused Spectrum of throttling Internet speeds for streaming services like Netflix, and online gaming. The lawsuit specifically mentioned Riot Games, with data to show that...
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Charter Kicked Out Of New York Over Inadequate Spectrum Internet Deployments And Willful Obfuscation
Back in March, we brought you word that Charter was skating on thin icewith the State of New York for allegedly lying about Spectrum broadband deployments, and not living up to its promises to expand rural broadband as part of its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable. Because of these misdeeds, the New York State Public Service Commission warned Charter that it could face franchise revocation in the state and additional penalties. Apparently, Charter has still failed to live up to its obligations because the Commission announced today they that it revoked its preliminary approval of the merger between Charter and Time Warner Cable in the state. This means that the company can no longer operate...
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There is a lot of turmoil going on in the cable TV market right now, with plenty of shakeups taking place. The wild swings in the marketplace and rise of companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook with regards to video delivery is precisely why AT&T is looking to hook up with Time Warner to better compete. Quarterly earnings are in for some of America's top cable providers, and the numbers aren't looking good with respect to subscriber counts. Charter reported that it lost 122,000 video subscribers for its most recently completed quarter. What's interesting is that this figure is far above the 43,000 loss that analysts were predicting. Things weren't much better at Comcast, which lost 96,000...
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In the latest case of cable companies behaving badly, Charter has come under fire from the New York State Public Service Commission. Charter has been on a mission to expand its nationwide footprint, and to do so, it reached agreements to acquire both Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks earlier decade. In order to gain regulatory approval for the acquisitions, Charter had to meet certain obligations with respect to building out its broadband network. Unfortunately for Charter, the Commission has found that the company has been untruthful about these efforts to expand service. The Commission says that Charter agreed to add 145,000 households and businesses within four years to its network,...
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With more and more Americans getting fed up with their cable or satellite TV packages creeping up in price month after month, many have decided to cut the cord in favor of over-the-air television, streaming services or “skinny TV” bundles. Charter is testing out a new service called Spectrum Stream for a select group of its existing customer base that only subscribes to internet services. The hope is that it will be able to entice these customers with the promise of local channels and popular cable channels, while at the same time bolstering its bottom line. In this case, the new Spectrum Stream skinny bundle includes 25 live channels that can be streamed via your mobile devices or via a device...
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The people of New York state are taking Charter to court. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office is suing Charter-owned Spectrum (previously Time Warner Cable) for knowingly failing to live up to its promise of ‘blazing fast’ and ‘super reliable’ service. Schneiderman remarked, “The allegations in today's lawsuits confirm what many of you have long suspected: Spectrum-Time Warner has been ripping you off”. Schneiderman conducted a statewide study in 2015 to measure broadband speeds after receiving thousands of complaints from Time Warner Cable customers. The study discovered that at least 640,000 customers who signed up for high-speed internet received much slower speeds. It was...
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In the city of Nashville, Tennessee, Google Fiber is running into trouble with incumbents who are trying to slow its rollout of gigabit internet service. Google Fiber has limited service within the city, and is dependent on gaining access to utility poles to expand its footprint. However, Comcast and AT&T are making that process incredibly difficult. Google Fiber is butting up against an even more peculiar problem in the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Charter Communications has sued the city for giving what it considers preferential treatment to not only Google Fiber, but also rival AT&T. Charter claims that both Google Fiber and AT&T are signing up for new sweetheart franchise deals...
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New York customers are not satisfied with their internet service. Thousands of Time Warner Cable's customers have written to the New York Attorney General insisting that they are not receiving the download speeds they paid for. As a response, New York AG Eric Schneiderman is working on an investigation regarding the company's advertised internet speeds. Former Columbia University law professor Tim Wu is leading the investigation. Wu coined the term “net neutrality” and ran for lieutenant governor of New York in 2014. Wu’s platform attacked large business, particularly those in the telecom and cable industries. Schneiderman’s letter stated, “In advertisement after advertisement, Time Warner...
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It might be just a tad early for Charter Communications to pop the champagne, but it can certainly have an intern fetch the bubbly in preparation of a celebration. The U.S. Department of Justice laid out settlement terms of an antitrust suit that would allow Charter to forge ahead with its proposed acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. The Department of Justice attached several conditions to its settlement, the biggest being that Charter would not be allowed to enter into or enforce agreements that would make it more difficult for online video services like Netflix and Hulu to purchase video content from programmers. It's a tactic the agency feared Charter would be in a...
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In a letter sent to customers, Time Warner Cable (TWC) announced a series of price hikes for its various TV programming and Internet services. Perhaps ill timed, the price increases come less than two weeks after New York regulators approved TWC's proposed merger with Charter Communications.Charter confirmed back in May of last year that it agreed to buy TWC for $195.71 per share, valuing the deal at $55.76 billion. If factoring in TWC's long term debt of $22.64 billion, the value of the deal jumps to over $78 billion. Either way, it's a major move in the making, and it came one step closer to reality when New York officials gave it their thumbs up.According to the letter being sent out to customers,...
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A Bloomberg report that came out on Memorial Day was right on the money when it came to Charter’s ambitions to take on cable juggernaut Comcast. Bloomberg learned that Charter would scoop up Time Warner Cable (TWC) for $195 per share, valuing the transaction at roughly $55 billion. Charter confirmed the acquisition this morning, valuing each TWC share at approximately $195.71. The transaction has an equity value of $55.76 billion, but TWC has long-term debt of $22.64 billion which value the entire whole shebang at over $78 billion. The TWC acquisition will vault Charter from fourth place in the U.S. cable market to second place, right behind Comcast. The combined companies will have an estimated...
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Comcast came up as the biggest loser in its failed bit to acquire rival Time Warner Cable (TWC) for $45 billion. Comcast wasted over $30 million on lobbying and tucked its tail between it legs once it became clear that U.S. regulatory agencies would not approve the merger. Comcast’s loss is now Charter’s gain according to a fresh report from Bloomberg. We first heard of Charters inklings to cozy up with TWC back in late April, but it appears that the relationship has gotten especially serious in recent days. The news agency has learned that Charter is willing to pay around $195 per share (a 14 premium over TWC’s last closing price). The stock and cash deal is estimated to be worth $55.1 billion,...
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