Charter Communications launched a pair of low-cost streaming TV packages for its Spectrum broadband subscribers. It said Tuesday that Spectrum TV Stream features more than 90 live linear channels at a cost of $40 a month, while Spectrum Stream Latino features more than 45 Spanish-language live linear channels at $25 a month.
Charter Communications' shift from a "bring your own device" mobile strategy to its Anytime Upgrade program and handset subsidization approach was inevitable, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote in a note Wednesday. Charter's BYOD strategy, which Comcast shared, had the cable operators residing largely in the low end of the mobile marketplace, he said. Competing in the larger premium market means subsidizing handsets, Moffet added. Charter notably is also offering device insurance at a rate less than what's often available from the Big Three wireless carriers, he said. Charter announced its Anytime Upgrade plan -- allowing Unlimited Plus data subscribers unlimited handset upgrades -- this week.
The Q4 2023 inflation adjustment figure for cable operators using Form 1240 is 1.63%, said the FCC Media Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics Tuesday. In the year-ago quarter, it was 3.88%.
The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division is recommending that Charter Communications modify some ad claims about its Spectrum Business Wireless Internet Backup service. AT&T challenged the ad claims. NAD is recommending Charter modify the claims so it can avoid conveying the message that subscribers won't experience degraded or slowed service during power outages. NAD said Charter disagrees with the finding but would comply.
Vecima Networks' plans to buy the cable business unit assets of Casa Systems for $20 million could mean a return to focusing on cable and fixed broadband markets for the Casa cable unit, Dell'Oro Group's Jeff Heynen blogged Wednesday. Casa has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Vecima, meanwhile, would gain access to Casa software that can be used in scaling virtualized cable modem termination system (vCMTS) deployments at cable operators around the world, Heynen said. The deal could provide competition for Harmonic, which hugely dominates the vCMTS market, with most of its revenue coming from Comcast, an early mover in deploying vCMTS, he said. Charter Communications plans to deploy Harmonics' broadband platform but has indicated it wants multiple vendors' vCMTS platforms in its network, he said. Numerous other cable operators have yet to transition to vCMTS, he said. Vecima said it hopes to close the deal in early June.
Cox Communications' TV ad claims about its mobile service reliability are reasonable, the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division said Monday. AT&T challenged claims in the ad about Cox's "unbeatable 5G reliability."
Pointing to Comcast's broadband business facing headwinds due to fixed wireless and fiber competition and the discontinuation of the affordable connectivity program, Deutsche Bank Research said Monday it was lowering the cabler's stock price target by $2, to $53. In a note to investors, an analyst said it was upping Comcast's 2024 broadband subscriber loss forecast by 285,000, to 435,000, mostly due to ACP-related churn: It's assuming 15% of Comcast's roughly 1.4 million ACP subscribers will disconnect without the subsidy, costing Comcast 210,000 subs across Q2 and Q3.
Comments are due April 26 to the Library of Congress' Copyright Royalty Board on a pending motion seeking distribution of 40% of the 2021 cable royalties collected for the retransmission to cable subscribers of over-the-air television and radio broadcast signals, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register.
Ohio's Jefferson County Cable TV will pay a $10,000 civil penalty to end an FCC investigation into the company's broadband data reporting practices, according to an Enforcement Bureau consent decree in Monday's Daily Digest. The bureau said that after an individual challenged the company's reported broadband service provision data, Jefferson County Cable acknowledged it hadn't properly reviewed and understood the FCC's guidance on broadband data collection filings and that about 1,500 locations reported as receiving service were removed from the company's filings.
The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division (NAD) is recommending Charter Communications drop or modify advertising claims that Verizon customers will save more than $1,500 in their first year by switching to Charter's Spectrum Mobile. NAD said Wednesday the ad claim doesn't make clear that it's comparing the lowest-tier Spectrum Mobile plan with a Verizon plan not at the bottom of its tier. In addition, the ad isn't clear that Spectrum Internet is required for the Spectrum Mobile offer, it said. NAD said that Charter indicated it disagreed that its ad disclosures were insufficient but will comply with the recommendations to improve disclosures.