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Will Charter Communications (CHTR) Lose Univision Lineup?
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Leading cable MSO (multi service operator) Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR - Free Report) is on the verge of a black out of TV channels controlled by Univision Communications Inc. The Hispanic TV broadcaster, which is a subsidiary of Mexican cable TV and media behemoth, Grupo Televisa SA (TV - Free Report) , is currently engaged in a retransmission tussle with the cable MSO which is already subject to litigation. In Aug 2016, Univision sued Charter Communications accusing the latter of breaching its TV carriage contracts.
Ever since Charter Communications acquired Time Warner Cable and BrightHouse in 2016, the company has been trying to get better deals from content providers and programmers. The cable MSO is pressing to leverage Time Warner Cable’s more favorable Univision retransmission deal, instead of the original Charter Communications contract which has already expired. Notably, the Time Warner Cable deal is valid still 2022.
In Jul 2016, Fox News, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA - Free Report) , sued the cable operator claiming the company breached its contract by trying to apply Time Warner Cable’s channel carriage rates and was not abiding by an agreement it signed with Fox to distribute Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
In the same month, leading U.S. media giant CBS Corp. also filed breach-of-contract lawsuits against Charter Communications for the same reason. Interestingly, Charter Communications has structured its 2016 mega acquisitions in such a way that the newly combined MSO appears under the control of Time Warner Cable.
Meanwhile, per a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) , the largest telecom operator in the U.S. is exploring strategic options to acquire Charter Communications, the second largest cable MSO in the nation. Although The Wall Street Journal stated there is no guarantee that the deal will materialize, a combination of two of the industry's biggest companies may become the latest one in the ongoing consolidation trend of the telecom-pay-TV-media space.
Price Performance of Charter Communications
2016 was extremely good for Charter Communications’ investors. In the last one year, the stock returned 67.10%, outshining the Zacks categorized Cable TV industry’s gain of 38.10%. Nevertheless, cable TV industry is facing massive cord-cutting threat and Charter Communications is no exception to the trend. We believe that is the primary reason behind the stock currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Will Charter Communications (CHTR) Lose Univision Lineup?
Leading cable MSO (multi service operator) Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR - Free Report) is on the verge of a black out of TV channels controlled by Univision Communications Inc. The Hispanic TV broadcaster, which is a subsidiary of Mexican cable TV and media behemoth, Grupo Televisa SA (TV - Free Report) , is currently engaged in a retransmission tussle with the cable MSO which is already subject to litigation. In Aug 2016, Univision sued Charter Communications accusing the latter of breaching its TV carriage contracts.
Ever since Charter Communications acquired Time Warner Cable and BrightHouse in 2016, the company has been trying to get better deals from content providers and programmers. The cable MSO is pressing to leverage Time Warner Cable’s more favorable Univision retransmission deal, instead of the original Charter Communications contract which has already expired. Notably, the Time Warner Cable deal is valid still 2022.
In Jul 2016, Fox News, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA - Free Report) , sued the cable operator claiming the company breached its contract by trying to apply Time Warner Cable’s channel carriage rates and was not abiding by an agreement it signed with Fox to distribute Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
In the same month, leading U.S. media giant CBS Corp. also filed breach-of-contract lawsuits against Charter Communications for the same reason. Interestingly, Charter Communications has structured its 2016 mega acquisitions in such a way that the newly combined MSO appears under the control of Time Warner Cable.
Meanwhile, per a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) , the largest telecom operator in the U.S. is exploring strategic options to acquire Charter Communications, the second largest cable MSO in the nation. Although The Wall Street Journal stated there is no guarantee that the deal will materialize, a combination of two of the industry's biggest companies may become the latest one in the ongoing consolidation trend of the telecom-pay-TV-media space.
Price Performance of Charter Communications
2016 was extremely good for Charter Communications’ investors. In the last one year, the stock returned 67.10%, outshining the Zacks categorized Cable TV industry’s gain of 38.10%. Nevertheless, cable TV industry is facing massive cord-cutting threat and Charter Communications is no exception to the trend. We believe that is the primary reason behind the stock currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? These 10 are painstakingly hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. They are our primary picks to buy and hold. Be among the very first to see them >>