For six months now, union workers for Charter in New York and New Jersey have been on strike. Now the cable company has filed a lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, accusing union members of sabotaging customers’ cable installations to make Charter look bad. [More]
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Verizon Gives Up, Decides It Doesn’t Want To Buy Comcast Or Charter After All
By 9.15.17
Ever since an openly business-friendly administration stepped into the White House, analysts and investors have been pushing for Verizon to merge with a cable/internet giant like Comcast or Charter. And the telecom titan’s CEO has even indicated his interest in a corporate marriage of convenience with a massive cable or media company. But now the company says it has no immediate plans to wed. [More]
A Reminder: Cable Companies Are Lying When They Say They Support Net Neutrality
August 30, 2017
As the FCC winds down its lip-service commenting period on Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to roll back net neutrality rules that stop internet service providers from interfering with the things you do and see online, we wanted to remind you of that time we challenged more than a dozen cable companies — all of whom publicly claimed to love the core ideas of neutrality — if they would put those rules into a legally binding contract; not one of them said yes. [More]
Could Comcast Engineer A Mega Merger That Would Include 55 Million Customers?
By 8.14.17
Not so long ago, Comcast failed in its effort to merge with Time Warner Cable and create a cable/internet giant with around 30 million customers. But now that the regulatory winds have shifted in a decidedly pro-merger direction, some are theorizing what it would take for Comcast to engineer a telecom Voltron nearly double that size. [More]
Sexy European Suitor May Be Looking To Woo Charter Into Another Merger
By 8.10.17
Summertime fling fantasies aren’t just for libidinous teens at camp. European telecom giant Altice, which recently purchased Cablevision and Suddenlink in the U.S., is reportedly gazing across the campfire and into the eyes of another potential American mating partner: Charter. [More]
Charter Decides It’s Not Particularly Interested In Being Acquired By Sprint Right Now
By 7.31.17
You would think that after just having finished a mega-merger with Time Warner Cable last year, Charter might want to take a break before diving into any more major transactions. And yet that hasn’t stopped Sprint from coming ’round knocking at Charter’s door. [More]
Here’s What Comcast, Verizon, Netflix, And Everyone Else Has To Say About Net Neutrality
By 7.18.17
The initial comment deadline in the FCC’s proceeding to kill off the 2015 Open Internet Rule — that’s net neutrality, to most of us — has now come and gone. More than 8.9 million comments have already come in since May, blowing away the 4 million comment record set by the last time net neutrality came before the Commission in 2014. [More]
Charter Customers Surprised To See ‘Broadcast TV Fee’ For Streaming Service
By 7.12.17
Earlier this year, Charter subscribers in Massachusetts began noticing a significant increase in their cable bill attributed to a new “Broadcast TV surcharge.” Now it appears these pesky and costly fees have migrated to the company’s new streaming service. [More]
Today In Streaming TV: Charter Tests Skinny Bundle, CenturyLink Launches $45 Package
By 6.30.17
The trend continues: As consumers increasingly cut the cord and back away from traditional pay-TV, they still want to watch content. And rather than let all the money go to Hulu, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube, cable and satellite companies are cautiously wading into the all-online world. This week, CenturyLink and possibly Charter are joining the fray. [More]
Comcast & Charter May Make Sprint Their Third Musketeer In Quest For Wireless Offering
By 6.27.17
Comcast and Charter have agreed to work together to explore ways to get into the wireless market, but it sounds like they’re casting around for a third musketeer to join their new venture. And that final member of the trio might be Sprint. [More]
Report: Charter Looking To Buy Cox Communications
By 6.22.17
While it was rumored that Charter said “no thank you” to Verizon’s estimated $100 billion merger offer earlier this year because it just wasn’t enough money, new reports suggest the rejection was actually because Charter wanted to go on its own shopping spree, snatching up Cox Communications. [More]
Report: Charter Said No To Verizon Buyout Offer Because It Wasn’t Enough Money
By 6.1.17
For months, Verizon’s own leaders have been stoking the rumor mill with comments about just how ready the wireless giant is to acquire someone, anyone they currently compete with. It seems that wasn’t just talk, but that Verizon actually tried to make a play on Charter before being rebuffed earlier this year. [More]
You Still Hate Your Cable Company As Much As Ever, But Think Your Mobile Carrier’s All Right
By 5.23.17
Every year, a major customer satisfaction survey comes out with an updated look at how the country’s cable, phone, and pay-TV companies are doing. And every year, it turns out the answer is still: really badly. But while many cable companies continue to suck, one trend is clear — the more competition there is, the higher the satisfaction scores tend to be. [More]
Charter Disconnects Some Former TWC Subscribers Mid-Day, Demands More Money
By 5.19.17
When Charter bought up Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016, customers who suddenly found themselves paying Charter bills knew they were in for a few big changes. One of those was an inevitable price increase, which for some customers began even before the merger was formally approved or completed. But even though you might expect your cable bill to creep inexorably upward, you probably don’t expect it to happen in the middle of the afternoon with a sudden channel blackout. [More]
Comcast And Charter Decide To Team Up On New Wireless Plans
By 5.8.17
While Comcast and Charter each dominate their various major markets for cable and internet service, neither has the national footprint that would help them sell wireless plans to the coming generation that doesn’t want to be tied to a cable or fiber line. So the nation’s two largest broadband providers have agreed to work together on ways they can help each other out in the mobile world. [More]
Customer Sues Charter For Selling Their Data Without Consent
By 4.11.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
It may become one of the defining questions of our age: Does your personal data become someone else’s asset as soon as you go online? One Charter customer says that he has a right to determine how his data is used, and that the cable/internet company failed to get his permission or disclose that it would be using this information for its own gain. [More]
FCC: Charter No Longer Required To Provide Competing Service For 1 Million People
By 4.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
When the FCC approved the three-way merger of Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House, it did so under the condition that Charter would have to bring broadband competition to 1 million people in markets where consumers only have one choice. Today, the FCC voted to scrap that requirement, instead asking Charter to build its network elsewhere. [More]
AT&T, Feds Settle Dodgers Lawsuit Over SportsNet LA; Blackout To Continue
By 3.24.17
The Department of Justice and AT&T settled a lawsuit claiming DirecTV — which AT&T purchased in 2015 — colluded unlawfully with other carriers about their negotiations to carry SportsNet LA, the only cable channel in Los Angeles to air most Dodgers games. But that doesn’t mean the cable provider will be adding the channel to its lineup anytime soon. [More]
