The Milwaukee Post

By ARTHUR THOMAS Conley News Service MILWAUKEE – Cable television sub- scribers in southeastern Wisconsin already facing a possible change in provider received some confirmation Monday as Comcast and Charter Communications announced a deal that will transfer Milwaukee-area Time Warner Cable sub- scribers to Charter. The deal is a move by Comcast to help its merger with Time Warner Cable win federal regulatory approval. Comcast agreed in February to acquire Time Warner, the major cable provider in the area, for $45.2 billion, but also pledged to divest itself of millions of customers as part of the transaction. The deal has Charter purchasing 1.4 mil- lion subscribers from Time Warner for $7.3 billion. It also calls for the two companies – Charter and Comcast – to swap customers in a number of areas. Finally, the deal creates a spinoff company that both Comcast and Charter will have a stake in and will be able to leverage for savings down the road. The acquisition will increase Charter's video customer base from 4.4 million to about 5.7 million. The switch will include video, Internet and phone services. The CEOs of both companies described the deal as a way to become stronger. Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, said during a conference call that the deal would mutually benefit both companies while also providing "an opportunity to realign our footprints to enhance opera- tional efficiencies and ultimately enhance the customer experience." Thomas Rutledge, president and CEO of Charter Communications, said the deal makes Charter stronger in communities, including Wisconsin, that the company thinks are attractive and where it will be able to compete. He added that the deal gives Charter "a highly efficient footprint" and the spinoff will help even more in the future. The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust division are evaluat- ing the proposed merger. Most observers believe the agencies will approve it later this year, with conditions. Now federal regula- tors will simultaneously evaluate the pro- posed divestitures that carve up Time Warner Cable among Comcast, Charter and a new company, and will involve separate voluminous government filings. Brian Roberts, Comcast's CEO and chair- man, said Monday the deals would leave the company at the subscriber levels of 2002 and 2006 when Comcast acquired, respectively, AT&T Inc.'s broadband and parts of Adelphia Communications Corp. "Transforming three giant companies into two behemoths gives no comfort to con- tent providers or consumers," Matt Wood, policy director of the nonprofit Free Press, said Monday. "Lawmakers and antitrust authorities shouldn't be fooled, either." The deal is a win for Stamford, Conn.- based Charter, which had planned a hostile takeover of Time Warner Cable before Comcast made its move. Craig Moffett, one of the nation's leading telecommunications analysts, said, "Charter will leave her (TWC) courtship with a sizable consolation prize." Contact Arthur Thomas athomas@conleynet.com 2 • Milwaukee County Post • May 2, 2014 volume 20, issue number 18 The Milwaukee County Post (ISSN 1544-1776) is published weekly by Conley Media, Milwaukee County 3397 South Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207 For all departments call: 414.744.6370 news display and advertising FAX: 414.744.6884 Classifieds: 800-762-6219 ext. 5005 Classified Fax: 262-334-6252 For display advertising inquires: Daryl Skaradzinski: General Manager - ext. 13 dskaradzinski@conleynet.com For editiorial inquires: Dwayne Butler: Editor - 262-513-2626 dbutler@conleynet.com POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Milwaukee County Post 3397 S. Howell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 Periodicals Postage Paid at Milwaukee, WI. 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