Business

What Charter-Time Warner Cable Deal Could Mean for Consumers

Published

9 years ago

May 27, 2015

This Feb. 2, 2009 file photo shows a Time Warner Cable truck in New York. Charter Communications is close to buying Time Warner Cable for about $55 billion, two people familiar with the negotiations said Monday, May 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

TALI ARBEL, AP Business Writers
BREE FOWLER, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — As the Internet has upended their business, cable companies have been racing to reinvent themselves as dominant broadband providers and distributors of online video.

Charter Communications’ $55 billion bid for Time Warner Cable, paired with a $10 billion side offer for Bright House Networks, marks the latest in a wave of deals that promise consumer benefits.

Perhaps so. Over the long run, though, critics say the collective weight of such deals may mean higher prices for subscribers.

In an accelerating trend, cable providers now have more Internet subscribers than TV subscribers, according to data provider SNL Kagan. As more viewers ditch TV for online video, competition for eyeballs is intensifying — from the likes of Netflix and Amazon to AOL to music-streaming service Spotify.

Here’s what that the Charter-TWC deal and others like it could mean over time:

Q: WHAT’S DRIVING THESE DEALS?

A: Cable companies are bulking up as costs for TV channels and sports rise even as the number of cable and satellite TV subscribers slips. The number of such subscribers declined around 500,000 over the 12 months that ended in March, according to data provider SNL Kagan.

Q: WILL REGULATORS LIKELY APPROVE THESE MERGERS?

A: It isn’t automatic. Earlier this year, Comcast Corp. dropped its own takeover bid for Time Warner Cable in the face of resistance from federal regulators. That proposed deal would have married the nation’s two biggest cable providers with a media powerhouse, Comcast’s NBCUniversal. Regulators worried that the combination would be too dominant in high-speed Internet service and might undermine the streaming-video industry that is changing TV viewing.

The Federal Communications Committee chairman, Tom Wheeler, upped the ante Tuesday, saying that “an absence of harm is not sufficient.” He said the FCC “will look to see how American consumers would benefit” from a Charter-TWC deal.

In its favor, Charter’s tie-up with TWC and Bright House isn’t as big as Comcast alone. And it doesn’t include a big entertainment company like NBCUniversal that could incentivize it to promote its own content.

Analysts expect the government to approve AT&T’s purchase of satellite TV company DirecTV, which does compete directly with the cable guys.

France’s Altice S.A., which was reportedly also interested in Time Warner Cable, last week bought a controlling stake in Suddenlink Communications. Altice declined to comment Tuesday.

Q: WOULD A CHARTER-TWC DEAL SERVE CONSUMERS?

A: Time Warner Cable has a terrible reputation for customer service. That could improve in the proposed merger. Charter said it’s been adding U.S. customer-service jobs and will continue to do so.

Charter also has simpler offers without a lot of hidden fees, said Jeff Wlodarczak, an analyst for Pivotal Research Group who says he think that the deal would be a net positive for consumers.

Charter argues that TWC customers would receive superior products — from faster broadband to expanded video offerings to additional high-definition channels. Charter says its slowest Internet speed — $40 a month for 60 megabits per second when bought by itself — is faster and cheaper than what Time Warner Cable offers. (Time Warner Cable advertises 30 megabits per second for $55 a month on its website.)

Charter says it would offer that option to Time Warner Cable customers, though prices could always change.

As a more national company, Charter could also compete better with phone companies that serve business customers, says Bruce Leichtman, a TV consultant and head of Leichtman Research Group.

Q: DO BIGGER CABLE COMPANIES MEAN HIGHER PRICES?

A: Internet prices have been rising and will likely keep doing so, said Forrester analyst James McQuivey. Still, he cautioned, it’s difficult to make any confident predictions at a time of rapid transformation in the industry and rising competition from online video.

“This is really a hard thing to say — because of x, y is going to happen, because there are about a dozen x’s in motion at the same time,” McQuivey said.

Some think differently. Cable companies already have scant competition for supplying Internet service, said Susan Crawford, co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard.

“High-speed Internet access today is a utility” that’s essential for education and job searching, Crawford noted. “Yet in American cities, cable is the dominant provider of that private utility and can charge whatever it wants to whoever it wants.”

For a provider, being big means you command better prices on TV and sports. That makes it harder for a new competitor like Google Fiber to offer attractive bundles of Internet and TV together.

Google Fiber exists in just three markets. In Kansas City, its presence made Time Warner Cable change its practices for the better, Crawford said.

Q: WHAT ABOUT CHEAP INTERNET TV?

A: Netflix and Hulu start at $8 a month. Amazon’s video library is part of its Prime shipping service, which costs $8.25 a month. HBO Now, which gives you HBO content without a cable subscription, is about $15 a month.

But as cable companies get bigger, they may make online video services pay more for access to their Internet customers. That could lead to higher prices.

By getting larger, cable companies can “control change in a more profitable manner,” said Nathan Miller, an economics professor at Georgetown University and formerly an economist with the Justice Department’s antitrust division. The risk, he said, is that companies can then charge more.

The FCC’s new Internet traffic rules, which broadband providers are suing to block, authorize it to investigate arrangements between Internet companies and broadband providers. That authority could help keep costs from rising substantially and being passed on to consumers.

Still, no one knows for sure how the industry’s transformation will affect prices.

“What any given deal means in terms of the ultimate price consumers pay — that’s a very difficult question to answer,” said Amanda Wait, a former Federal Trade Commission lawyer who represents clients in antitrust matters. “The analysis is more than just price. Do consumers have access to more content, higher broadband speeds? All those go into a consumer benefit analysis.”

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Pamela Price Appoints Deputy D.A. Jennifer Kassan as New Director of Community Support Bureau

On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau. Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.

Published

15 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau.

Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.

Working in the DA’s new administration since 2023, Kassan was most recently assigned to the Organized Retail Theft Prosecution team.

Kassan has a master’s degree in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship from Yale Law School, and graduated from Yale Law School in 1995. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor emphasis in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.

Kassan’s education, extensive legal background, list of notable accomplishments and impressive resume includes helping to found and lead multiple organizations to support community wealth building including:

Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization that promotes locally-based community economic development,
the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a nonprofit that provides legal information, training, and representation to support sustainable economies
the Force for Good Fund, a nonprofit impact investment fund
Crowdfund Main Street, a licensed portal for regulation crowdfunding
Opportunity Main Street, a place-based ecosystem building organization that supports under-represented entrepreneurs and provides education about community-based investing.

In addition, Kassan served as an elected member of the City Council of Fremont, California from 2018 to 2024, and on the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.

In 2020 she was named to the list of World-Changing Women in Conscious Business by SOCAP Global.

“We are excited to see Jenny accept the role as the new leader for the Community Support Bureau,” said Price. “She brings a wealth of talent, experience, and a vision to expand our office’s engagement with community groups and residents, that will level-up our

outreach programs and partnerships with local organizations with the aim of promoting crime prevention.

“We thank Interim CSB Director Esther Lemus, who is now assigned to our office’s

Restitution Unit, for her hard work and a great job fostering positive relationships between the DAO and the community.”

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Business

Sacramento Kings and Black-Owned Digital License Plate Firm Enter History-Making Partnership

Reviver founder and Chief Strategy Officer Neville Boston attended the Sacramento Kings’ season opener at Golden 1 Center, witnessing players debut the company’s patch. Reviver proudly supports the Sacramento Kings’ community and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Photo by Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media (CBM).

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Reviver founder and Chief Strategy Officer Neville Boston attended the Sacramento Kings' season opener at Golden 1 Center, witnessing players debut the company's patch. Reviver proudly supports the Sacramento Kings' community and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Photo by Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media (CBM).

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

Reviver, the world’s first digital license plate and connected vehicle platform, has entered into a history-making jersey patch partnership with the Sacramento Kings, team officials announced right before the team’s season opener on Oct. 24.

The collaboration establishes Reviver as the first Black-founded technology jersey patch partner in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Reviver logo now appears on the left front strap of Kings’ uniforms.

Reviver founder and Chief Strategy Officer Neville Boston was in attendance to see the company’s patch worn by the Kings, during a game with the Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento.

“It was an absolutely amazing night. More than I ever expected,” Boston told California Black Media (CBM). “The Sacramento Kings have been incredible. On a national, and maybe a worldwide level, this partnership raises the profile of Reviver with the assistance of (Kings chairman and CEO) Vivek Ranadivé and the Kings.”

According to the Kings’ brass, Reviver, supported by the Black Star Fund, a Black-led venture capital firm based in Sacramento, is now an official “innovation partner” of the Kings and Golden 1 Center; a presenting partner of “Capitalize Technology,” a King’s corporate social investment initiative; and the exclusive digital license plate of the Sacramento Kings.

Headquartered in Granite Bay, a suburb of Sacramento, Reviver was born from a vision to modernize and streamline the vehicle registration renewal process. On Jan. 1, 2023, the state of California joined Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, and Arizona as states that have approved digital license plates for use statewide, after Reviver completed a four-year pilot program that evaluated a replacement for metal plates.

About 10,000 California drivers bought digital plates during the pilot program. Vehicles registered with the state are eligible to adopt the new high-tech tags. Reviver existence was made possible when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 984 in September 2022.

Under that law, California vehicle owners can update their titles, registrations, and other records remotely. In addition, the digital license “RPlate” includes a flashing message if a vehicle is reported stolen or if there is an Amber Alert.

Ranadivé is spreading the news that Reviver has international potential.

“This jersey patch partnership with Reviver continues the Kings long tradition of using our global platform to promote innovation and technology,” Ranadivé stated. “It’s particularly exciting to showcase a homegrown company that was part of our Kings Capitalize program. This is just the beginning of our work together, and we look forward to helping Reviver in its mission to modernize the driving experience.”

The commercial use of patches in professional basketball all began in 2009 when the Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) Phoenix Mercury removed its name to replace it with sponsor, LifeLock, an identity-theft protection company. The landmark deal netted a contract worth about $1 million annually.

Kindra Montgomery-Block, vice president of diversity, equity, and social impact for the Sacramento Kings, was the integral facilitator who assisted Boston and his team in connecting with the sports franchise that is boasting 40 years in the Capital City.

“This partnership between the Kings and Reviver, backed by the Black Star Fund, will invest in the Sacramento community to promote technology and innovation in the region,” Montgomery-Block stated. “Reviver will support the Sacramento Kings community and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”

Editor’s Note: Neville Boston is a California Black Media board member.

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Activism

NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention Highlights Black Voter Engagement, and More

A Friday panel featuring NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell and Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, examined Project 2025, an initiative perceived as a potential threat to civil rights, healthcare access, and environmental protection. This session emphasized Project 2025’s projected impact on Black communities, noting that policies within the initiative could diminish gains in civil and environmental rights over decades. Russell and Wilson highlighted the need for vigilant monitoring and community mobilization to address these challenges.

Published

1 day ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

NAACP State Conference President Rick Callender (right) engages in a discussion on voter engagement and community advocacy with NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson during the 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention in Los Angeles. Photo by Rich Woods.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention concluded on Sunday, Oct 27, following four days of discussions and workshops at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Bringing together civil rights leaders, policymakers, and advocates from California and Hawaii, the convention operated under the theme “All In.” The participants discussed critical issues impacting Black communities, including criminal justice reform, health equity, economic empowerment, education, environmental justice, and voting rights.

On Saturday, the President’s Fireside Chat brought together NAACP President Derrick Johnson and CA/HI State Conference President Rick Callender, who discussed the urgency of voter engagement and community advocacy.

Guest speakers included Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), who spoke at the Women in NAACP (WIN) Labor Luncheon about the intersection of labor rights and civil rights. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond delivered remarks at the Leadership Dinner on education equity, focusing on policies to ensure all students have access to high-quality education.

Honors were given to longtime social justice advocate and former Assemblymember Mike Davis for his work in community activism. At the same time, actor and activist Danny Glover and the Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown received the 2024 Legacy Hall of Fame Awards, recognizing their lifelong commitments to advancing civil rights.

The convention also offered practical workshops, including “What’s On Your Ballot?,” where coalition leaders provided analyses of California propositions, explaining their potential impacts on community rights and resources. The Voter Turnout Workshop provided background and encouraged participants to promote voter turnout through community-centered outreach strategies.

Sunday’s events closed with a Prayer and Memorial Breakfast honoring the contributions of past and current civil rights leaders.