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Charter Having Ongoing Talks to Acquire Cox

With his new ownership of UK's Virgin Media and his new 27% stake in Charter Communications, cable industry mainstay John Malone has sparked a new round of talk about consolidation in the cable industry, consolidation that likely won't turn out particularly well for the consumer. Malone (and people he's leaking information to) are busy telling anyone who'll listen that the remaining large cable operators should merge.

Rumblings continued to bubble forth this week, with anonymous sources saying that Charter has had continuing talks with Time Warner Cable about an acquisition (Time Warner Cable is much more interested in acquiring than being acquired), and that Charter has also had ongoing talks to acquire Cox Communications:
quote:
Cox Communications...has held talks about combining with rival Charter Communications Inc., according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Cox President Pat Esser has discussed a deal with representatives from Liberty Media Corp., which owns a 27 percent stake in Charter, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. The structure of a potential deal hasn't been determined, including which company might be the acquirer, the other person said.
Consumer advocates warn that while these cable companies don't directly compete, the combination of AT&T and Verizon's withdrawal from the fixed line market in huge swaths of the market, combined with fewer cable operators to buck the trend, means you'll likely see a harder push toward metered billing by cable operators later this year and into 2014.
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88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Do Charter and Cox compete?

Um nope. In fact most of their service areas aren't even near each other. So please enough with the whole "this merger will kill competition". They do not compete.

N10Cities
Premium Member
join:2002-05-07
0000000

N10Cities

Premium Member

If Charter buys Cox...

I'm jumping ship.....have heard too much bad press about Charter. Weren't they bankrupt just a year or two ago?


KoRnGtL15
Premium Member
join:2007-01-04
Grants Pass, OR

KoRnGtL15

Premium Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

This would be a crying shame if it happened. I had Cox cable for years when living in San Diego. Actually had them when they first started out. Excellent service and decent support. Moved to Oregon a few years ago and Charter is garbage. I feel bad for current Cox customers if this merge happens. Charter is absolutely terrible. In my area. They are the only ones we have for faster high speed internet. I would dump them in a flash if someone else came along. With Charter. When things are fixed and rolling. The service works and is okay. But, when things go bad. Its BAD and can take them months on end to fix it. Specifically slow internet speeds in the evenings or not getting close to the advertised speed. Been through that route for months. Its fixed now. But, took way to long.

tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA

1 recommendation

tshirt to N10Cities

Premium Member

to N10Cities
They shed a lot of debt during bankruptcy which gives them the financial strength to try this.
The bad news is this is how they got in trouble before (well, ONE of the ways)
and you can be sure anything Malone does is NOT for user benefit.
The cable industry may need/be about to consolidate but this is not a natural fit.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband

Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

Very true. Cox is so spread out and not near Charter areas by any means. But with Cox being a private company, it makes it easier for it to happen. The smaller carriers should team up together though as it would give them more power, etc. But I do not believe metered billing will come of this like Karl suggests it will (although that seems to be the only thing that he can suggest).
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

said by TBBroadband:

Very true. Cox is so spread out and not near Charter areas by any means.

Cox areas in the Florida panhandle are near Alabama where Charter is. Cox areas in Arkansas are near Charter areas in Missouri and Tennessee. I'm pretty sure Charter is in southern California too.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband

Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

Charter does not service Ohio- a good share of the NEO area belongs to Cox. And actually Cox sold a good share of their network to Charter, but they are NOT next to each other as with the Comcast/TWC deal over Adelphia
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to N10Cities

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to N10Cities
said by N10Cities:

I'm jumping ship.....have heard too much bad press about Charter. Weren't they bankrupt just a year or two ago?


Jumping ship to where exactly? Cox charges $57 for 25 Mbps Charter charges $55 for 30 Mbps. Some areas it's $50. They filed for bankruptcy in march 2009 and came out of it in November 2009. That doesn't mean they went bankrupt. Their stock is up 80% in the last 8 months and up over 270% since emerging from bankruptcy 3 1/2 years ago. That's a 50% yearly rate of return on your investment. Hardly sounds like a company in trouble.

N10Cities
Premium Member
join:2002-05-07
0000000
Asus RT-AC87

N10Cities

Premium Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

I stand corrected on Charter. Fortunately, I have our local phone company to fall back on.

Pinnacle Communications in Lavaca. They have FTTH service with Internet and phone. They have a partnership with DirectTV for television service..

Had no problems with them in the past, but their cost was a bit higher, but looks like now they have pretty competitive Internet rates with telephone service bundled in. Their stand-alone Internet rates seem pretty stiff..

»www.pinncom.com/corporat ··· 6a4a944b

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to N10Cities

Premium Member

to N10Cities
OH HELL NO!
Rob_
Premium Member
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL

Rob_

Premium Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

No more "unlimited data"

..Rob
markopoleo
join:2003-04-02
Bonne Terre, MO

markopoleo

Member

Re: If Charter buys Cox...

said by Rob_:

No more "unlimited data"

..Rob

It IS unlimited. Its is never enforced. I alway go over the limit, as well as many others and never get noticed.
Cobra11M
join:2010-12-23
Mineral Wells, TX

Cobra11M

Member

This is

Horrible, Malone is trying to buy anyone out, I'm thankful that Kent (Suddenlink) has yet to even think of it.. of course those 2 might go way back?

who knows, Cox was innovative it would be a blow to see them be bought out by crappy charter (my family has them and a few friends, all they ever say is that its horrible!)

CxO Death
@ca.us

CxO Death

Anon

Prepare for cuts and layoffs

Dont these guys realize a merger is going to cut the CxO positions down by half if the acquired company gets its CxOs let go?

Anon18283
@sbcglobal.net

Anon18283

Anon

Re: Prepare for cuts and layoffs

Who knows, maybe one day I'll be glad that I didn't continue my internship with Cox Communications, despite it having been the best job I've had so far.

SrsBsns
join:2001-08-30
Oklahoma City, OK

SrsBsns

Member

Also jumping ship

I've experienced Charter's internet first hand and can tell you its terrible. Sure Cox is expensive but it works great. Charter is also expensive and its terrible. I was paying $65 a month for a 512 Kbps connection because there was no competition.

When my terrible service was working I was subject to monthly modem black listing. Charter somehow would think my modem was unauthorized and kick it off the network.

Charter is exactly what nobody needs...

CoolMan
join:2008-01-07
Maryville, TN
ARRIS BGW210-700
Netgear R7000

CoolMan

Member

Re: Also jumping ship

Charter no longer allows customer owned modems on there network for new customers and existing customers moving to current pricing or upgrading speed. They now only offer 30/4 or 100/5 megabits per second speed tiers no other options. They do not charge a line item for the modem but its included in the pricing for HSI.

SrsBsns
join:2001-08-30
Oklahoma City, OK

SrsBsns

Member

Re: Also jumping ship

said by CoolMan:

Charter no longer allows customer owned modems on there network for new customers and existing customers moving to current pricing or upgrading speed. They now only offer 30/4 or 100/5 megabits per second speed tiers no other options. They do not charge a line item for the modem but its included in the pricing for HSI.

This was a rented modem from Charter
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to CoolMan

Member

to CoolMan
said by CoolMan:

They do not charge a line item for the modem but its included in the pricing for HSI.


Nice spin to imply deception, now facts.

Old pricing( prior to June 2012 ) 30 meg $58, modem fee $7 total $65
New pricing 30 meg plus modem $55.

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

Mediacom and Rocco with Comcast/Cablevision

Wonder if since Mediacom is peering with Comcast (and the fact that Rocco is getting older) Wonder if he will sell to them or Cablevision since he used to work there?
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro ··· Commisso

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

If they do I am gone after 14 years

F Charter.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: If they do I am gone after 14 years

said by skeechan:

F Charter.

What are you going to do, go with at&t and pay for their slow overpriced u-verse?

CoxMerger
@rr.com

CoxMerger

Anon

Merger with Cox is not Underway

From: Pat Esser Pat.Esser
Date: August 2, 2013
To: ! CCI - Mail Users Nationwide
Subject: Acquisition rumors
You may have seen or heard reports and speculation in the cable industry regarding Liberty Media’s recent investment in Charter Communications and the company’s interest in acquiring other cable companies. As with any industry, mergers, acquisitions and strategic investments occur from time to time and the press often speculates on potential scenarios when rumors emerge.

One recent report even says that I have met with representatives from Liberty Media and Charter to discuss a merger. This is not true. While our standard policy is to not comment in the press on rumors related to mergers and acquisitions, the media continues to persist with these rumors and I felt it important to let you know that they are just that – rumors and speculation.

What we do know—thanks to your work and that of the entire CCI team—is that we are well-positioned for long-term success and we’ll continue our journey, together. On behalf of the senior team, thank you for remaining focused on the great work you do each day to deliver the Cox experience to our millions of customers.

Sincerely, Pat
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Still smaller than TWC

and TWC is much smaller than Comcast so really I'm not seeing the issue. In fact a TWC, Cox and Charter merger would still only be 70% of what Comcast is. How come no one is calling for Comcast to break up?

kv2009
join:2009-09-14
Kenner, LA

kv2009

Member

Jumping ship...

If Charter acquires Cox, AT&T will be getting many new subscribers in my area, including myself.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

backlash

this is a line in the sand, you will have to write your congress people about!
not necessarily about the merger, but about metered and anticompetitive billing practices that lead to higher prices for no improvement, in-fact you pay MORE and GET LESS for your money with metered billing. none of the ISPs have proven it is nothing other than a money grab to turn the landline ISP business into what you have in the wireless business with faux scarcity and fancy propaganda advertising telling you about the whiz-bang network upgrades to do nothing but fatten corporate bottom lines. something monopolies of the past get all gooey inside thinking about...

think about your data as bits of a dragon sold by robber barons. just streaming this clip will probably cost you $1
think about the guy who consumed 75terabytes of data in a month.. billions of dollars.. just enough to bring a gleam to an oil company's eyes.

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· mwQYeICQ

ikyuaoki
join:2011-04-12
Wichita, KS

ikyuaoki

Member

Oppose acquire!

I do not trust the charter communications because that charter does not deliver better service if cox were ever been acquired.

hand off, charter! don't bother to try acquire this cox!