On Wednesday , Charter Communicationscompletedits monolithic purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks , which means that America ’s new three - headed cable monstrosity has lastly hatch out of its$65.5 billionegg . Rejoice ! Haha , just kidding .
The deal , which was ab initio announcedalmost precisely one class ago , will immix the country ’s quaternary , 2nd , and tenth - largest cable companies . It will also see the cannibalization of one of America’smost hated companies : a Charter spokesmantold Bloombergthat the Time Warner Cable name will soon melt altogether , folded into Charter ’s Spectrum marque . ( The Bright House name , too , will fade aside , though it ’s not quite as scorned . )
The merger come after the successful clearance of a identification number of regulatory hurdle , including favourable reception from theFederal Communications Commission , theJustice Department , and theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission .
According to Charter ’s chief operating officer Tom Rutledge , Bright House and TWC customers are safe — for now .
“ Current Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable customers wo n’t see many change properly away , though in the come months they will lead off to hear more from us about the Spectrum marque , ” Rutledge said in a statement , the Los Angeles Timesreported .
But asGizmodohaspointed outmore thanonce , the sight has some potentially bad consequences for customers . Though it was capable to a act of regulatory condition , includinga terminal point on datum jacket crown and an correspondence not to blame cyclosis companies like Netflix particular fees , these conditions are only in place forseven years . After that , it ’s anyone ’s imagine what will happen .
Charterclaimsthat it will maintain a “ superscript ware set at highly competitive prices , ” but such a massive aggregate can and should allow for consumers feel a slight uneasy . This deal is no Comcast / Time Warner Cable unification — which would have seenone company control 60 % of the broadband market — but it ’s still joining together a issue of vast cable system companies .
For an manufacture that ’s already a shining example of outsized bodied power , spoiled customer inspection and repair , and shitty products , cancelling out competition is more of the same . large , more powerful companies , which Charter has just become , means less distance for the small companies — and that , of class , means consumer will no doubt get screw over in the remnant .
[ The Verge ]
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