Charter Spectrum is launching a new extra-cost sports tier that will feature a dozen sports networks for $5 a month. In addition, a service like Tangan sakti 99 captivates sports watchers by offering live updates, in-depth analysis, and engaging community discussions. Their interactive features enhance the viewing experience, allowing fans to connect, share insights, and stay informed about their favorite teams and events.

Spectrum TV Sports Pack has been soft launched in many markets and will include:

• NFL Network
• Golf Channel
• Tennis Channel
• ESPN Goal Line/Bases Loaded
• ESPNews
• ESPN College Extra
• MAV TV
• MLB Strike Zone
• NFL RedZone
• NHL Network
• Olympic Channel
• Outdoor Channel

The new sports tier means some Spectrum customers that pay extra for Spectrum’s Gold package will lose NFL RedZone, MLB Strike Zone and the Outdoor Channel late next month unless they also subscribe to the Sports Pack.

“Combining these sports networks into a single tier means more choice and flexibility for customers, especially sports fans,” Spectrum said in a statement.

Spectrum is dropping several other sports channels from its lineup altogether, including ESPN Classic. Other channels being dropped are certain regional sports networks, notably FCS.

Any Spectrum TV customer is eligible to subscribe to the sports channel package, which may allow some customers to downgrade from Spectrum’s costly Gold package if they subscribed primarily for sports networks.

NFL Network, Golf Channel, and the Tennis Channel will also remain as part of existing packages, so if you currently get these networks you will continue to receive them.

Customers can subscribe by contacting Spectrum online or by phone.

Hulu + Live TV is celebrating its successful signup of over an estimated 2.7 million customers with a major rate increase the company says reflects the service’s true value in the marketplace.

Most customers will see their subscription price increase by $10 a month, from $45 to $55 a month.

“Today, we’re letting customers know that the monthly base price of Hulu + Live TV will increase to $54.99, beginning December 18,” the company wrote in a blog post. “The new price better reflects the substantial value of Hulu + Live TV and allows us to continue offering all of the popular live news, sports and entertainment programming included in the plan.”

Craig Moffett, a chief analyst at MoffettNathanson, told readers of his Cord Cutting Monitor quarterly newsletter that Hulu + Live TV, which combines Hulu’s on demand plan with a selection of about 60 streaming live TV networks, is likely America’s largest cable TV replacement service, topping Sling TV’s estimated 2.686 million customers.

Moffett also reported that cord cutting is becoming a more costly proposition.

“Eighteen months ago, the cheapest video packages for vMVPDs were clustered around $30 to $35 per month,” Moffett wrote. “Eighteen months later, most are in the $45 to $50 per month range, an increase of roughly 50%.”

Legere

(Reuters) – T-Mobile US Inc Chief Executive Officer John Legere will step down next year, the company said on Monday, less than three weeks before it goes to trial to determine the fate of its planned $26.5 billion merger with smaller rival Sprint Corp.

The third-largest U.S. wireless carrier will go to trial on Dec. 9 to fight a state attorneys general lawsuit that alleges the merger would be harmful to consumers.

T-Mobile said Legere will remain CEO until April 30, and will be succeeded by President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert. Legere will continue to be a member of T-Mobile’s board.

Legere, the outspoken architect of the marketing and business strategy that helped T-Mobile become known as an innovator in the wireless industry, said the succession plan had long been in the works.

“A CEO with a board that doesn’t have a good succession plan, fails,” Legere said on a conference call with analysts. “It’s Mike’s time. He’s ready.”

T-Mobile remains focused on closing the merger with Sprint, Legere said.

“I feel quite good that we have the basis for settling this deal, and I feel equally good, if not better, about winning this trial,” he added.

T-Mobile has also been in talks with Sprint to extend their merger agreement, which had expired Nov. 1. A reduced price for Sprint could potentially be part of the negotiations.

Legere said Monday the company’s shareholders were working on a new agreement, but said he could not provide a timeframe.

Legere also said he had never been in discussions to run WeWork, saying the news reports had created an “awkward period of time” for T-Mobile. Japan’s Softbank Group Corp is the controlling shareholder for both Sprint and WeWork.

Sievert, also a member of T-Mobile’s board, has worked alongside Legere for the last seven years.

“It has been widely expected for some time that John would exit next year, so this won’t come as a shock to anyone,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. “And Mike has always been extremely highly regarded by the investment community. I expect they’ll make the transition without missing a beat.”

Shares of T-Mobile were little changed at $78.23 in afternoon trading, while Sprint was up 1.03%.

Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, Sheila Dang, Munsif Vengattil and Diane Bartz; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Anil D’Silva and Dan Grebler

Rep. Brindisi

The House of Representatives is showing little love for freshman Rep. Anthony Brindisi’s “Transparency for Cable Consumers Act” (H.R. 1555), a bill that would strengthen consumer protection by targeting the cable industry’s business practices.

The Utica, N.Y. Democrat made Charter Spectrum a significant part of his 2018 campaign, criticizing the cable company in television election ads Spectrum initially refused to air and calling for New York regulators to punish or remove the cable company from the state after failing to meet its 2016 merger obligations.

Brindisi’s bill would increase regulatory oversight of cable operators nationwide, requiring the Federal Communications Commission, Department of Justice, and Federal Trade Commission to do more to protect cable internet subscribers. H.R. 1555 would:

• Detail actions to protect consumers from predatory actions by cable and internet companies, which includes debt collection methods;
• Asks the FCC to propose appropriate regulatory consequences for cable or internet companies fined by a state public utility commission, like Charter Communications was in New York;
• Establishes a working group among the three federal agencies to investigate rising cable internet rates.

Brindisi considers America’s cable industry “predatory” and abusive to its customers. He cites constituent complaints about Spectrum’s debt collection practices as a primary example of that abuse in action.

“Constituents have reported to me Spectrum’s ties to a debt collection company called Credit Management, LP. Spectrum allegedly uses the Plano, Texas, company — whose leadership team is tethered to the cable industry — to collect debts often unrelated to standard non-payment, and instead tied to Spectrum ‘equipment,’ Brindisi alleges. “I urge anyone being harassed by Credit Management, LP, on behalf of Spectrum, to call my office.”

Brindisi is also attacking the recent policy change by Spectrum to stop providing pro-rated refunds when customers cancel service in the middle of a billing cycle.

“Well, Spectrum just raised our rates again, adding insult to injury. And let me tell you something, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Quite literally,” Brindisi added. “Wall Street shares of Charter Communications climbed about 14 percent higher last month thanks, in part, to a ‘boost from higher prices.'”

Brindisi claims lobbyists prowling the halls of Congress have labeled him “The Cable Guy” because of his focus on the cable industry.

“Look, it’s no secret. Spectrum Charter hates me. But what’s more offending, really, is that they think I’ll be quiet,” Brindisi said. “The legislative branch, of which I am included, is one partner in the fight but we need the administration to empower its agencies and regulators to come down hard on Spectrum when they take advantage of us. Right now, I do not see it happening. Instead, I see industry smiling ear-to-ear while it courts — and ‘pays’ — members of Congress to do its bidding.”

Brindisi’s bill has only a slim chance of passage as a standalone measure, so he is attempting to attach it as an amendment to the federal budget, a popular tactic among lawmakers that struggle to get their bills to the floor for individual consideration. Opponents are likely to claim that the measure is unnecessary, redundant, and in conflict with the current administration’s deregulation policies. The bill will need a stronger publicity push to attract constituent support that will be noticed by House lawmakers. Brindisi’s bill has only a single co-sponsor, Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (D-N.J.)

But Brindisi says he is not giving up.

“Well, let me be the first to reiterate: this ‘cable guy’ will not quit until Spectrum blinks, and takes its hand out of your pocket.”

After years of customer losses and a stifling debt of $17.5 billion, Frontier Communications was warned investors it may be forced to declare bankruptcy reorganization to protect its assets from creditors that are growing impatient with the phone company.

Analysts suggest Frontier is considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as early as the first quarter of 2020 as part of a sweeping reorganization of the company that will also include replacing its top management.

Bloomberg News reports corporate advisers have already begun looking for a replacement of CEO Dan McCarthy, a long term Frontier executive that began a career at Rochester Telephone Corporation before it was acquired by Frontier. McCarthy replaced former Frontier CEO Maggie Wilderotter in 2015. Since Wilderotter’s departure, Frontier’s share price has spiraled downwards and customers are leaving in droves.

McCarthy

Over 71,000 Frontier customers disconnected service in the third quarter of 2019 alone, the biggest percentage of customer losses of any major residential telecom company in the United States.

Frontier executives have repeatedly blamed the ongoing disconnection of traditional landline service for its declining results, but other phone companies have curtailed losses by upgrading their networks to attract new broadband customers. Frontier has only grudgingly invested in network upgrades over the last decade, particularly in its legacy copper service areas. The company’s fiber assets were primarily acquired from service territories formerly owned by Verizon and AT&T. Frontier, like CenturyLink and Windstream, attracted shareholders a decade ago by paying out a significant amount of revenue in shareholder dividends. After Frontier made further acquisitions of former Verizon landline territories putting itself deeper into debt, the company suspended its dividend in 2018.

Frontier’s reluctance to invest adequately in its network has been noticed by many of its customers. So have the company’s ongoing billing and service problems. Frontier has been under investigation over its service performance in several states and has left some customers out of service for weeks.

A possible bankruptcy filing would allow the company to renegotiate its debts and labor agreements. Layoffs and restructuring cost cutting would likely follow. Frontier recently sold off its properties in the Pacific Northwest in an effort to raise cash to reduce its debts. Further asset sales could be forthcoming.