A source today told Broadband Reports Charter Communications plans to eliminate the company’s social media department that handles customer complaints and concerns on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere in a broader move to cut costs.

Charter’s social media team

The insider reports company executives informed the Umatter2Charter social media team in Town and Country, Mo. they could move to new positions at Charter’s customer call center or leave the company starting Jan. 1.

The source claims Charter’s new management team of mostly ex-Cablevision executives is behind the decision.

Charter Communications’ decision to scale back on customer relations comes even though the company is regarded as one of the nation’s worst cable operators by customers who give it poor marks year after year.

Investors don’t think too highly of the company either. Charter reported a wider third-quarter loss in November, losing $87 million compared with $85 million lost during the same quarter last year. Executives tell Wall Street  the company was in chaos before new management under Tom Rutledge took over operations. Rutledge’s priorities are to invest in new set top boxes, convert more of its systems to digital, raise prices on services, cut back on promotions and retention offers, and centralize customer support operations.

That centralization process seems to be the reason behind the change.

“Charter will no longer have a customer care team tasked specifically with resolving matters raised on social media,” Charter’s social media manager Eric Ketzer told Broadband Reports. “We communicate with thousands of customers each day on the phone and in person, and that’s where we’ll focus our efforts.”

Cable customers in Montana, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming can be forgiven if they cannot remember the name of the cable company that provides them with service. Originally Bresnan Communications, then Cablevision’s Optimum West, customers are now learning Charter Communications could soon be their new service provider.

James Dolan, CEO of Cablevision Industries, last week acknowledged he had received “unsolicited interest” in the cable properties in the western United States, and told investors he may sell the systems for an undisclosed amount.

Cablevision acquired the systems formerly owned by Bill Bresnan two years ago, investing tens of millions in upgrades to bring them closer to modern standards. Cablevision has received praise from many subscribers for improved service and more competitive rates. But a sale could change that. Charter Cable is perennially rated among the worst cable companies in the United States by Consumer Reports.

Should Charter acquire the systems, it will also inherit a major tax fight initiated by Cablevision, protesting its Montana property tax bills for 2010 and 2011.

Cablevision is upset tax authorities defined the Optimum West operation as a single telecommunications company, not a cable company. That decision effectively doubles its tax rate from 3 to 6 percent — the same rate CenturyLink pays in the state.

If an appeals process finds the state erred in its decision, 29 counties will have to refund millions that Cablevision paid under protest.

Tax officials warn if Cablevision’s tax rate is cut in half and other companies reap similar rewards, homeowners and small businesses will cover the difference. Revenue director Dan Bucks warned that could mean annual tax bills $110 higher on a home assessed at $200,000.

In another sign competition between cable and phone companies may not be as robust as they would have you believe, Comcast last week announced a deal to sell local advertising on behalf of AT&T U-verse.

Under the agreement, Comcast’s Spotlight ad sales division will now sell local advertising slots on behalf of AT&T’s U-verse in cities where both companies provide service.

Comcast says the agreement will cover 21 cities, including:

• Atlanta
• Champaign-Springfield-Decatur (Ill.)
• Chicago
• Detroit
• Flint-Saginaw-Bay City (Mich.)
• Fresno-Visalia (Calif.)
• Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek (Mich.)
• Hartford-New Haven (Conn.)
• Houston
• Indianapolis
• Jackson, Miss.
• Jacksonville (Fla.)
• Lansing (Mich.)
• Little Rock-Pine Bluff (Ark.)
• Memphis
• Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
• Monterey-Salinas (Calif.)
• Nashville
• Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto (Calif.)
• San Francisco
• West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce (Fla.)

This leaves Comcast with a lock on local ad sales for both its own cable and AT&T’s U-verse systems. Most major cable networks offer their affiliates opportunities to insert local commercials during certain advertising breaks. The ad insertions provide a lucrative revenue stream for pay television providers, which can target viewers of specific cable networks or run the same messages across hundreds of cable channels.

The deal will save AT&T from having to hire additional employees to handle local ad sales and will let advertisers cover one or both systems in a single ad buy.

But critics wonder if Comcast cooperating this closely with AT&T is good for competition.

The deal is not unprecedented, however. AT&T has also partnered with Charter Cable to cross market local ad sales in cities where U-verse and Charter compete head to head.

An insider at Charter Communications has told Broadband Reports it plans to introduce a $200 “activation fee” for customers choosing 100Mbps broadband from the cable provider.

“Ultra is a premium service which results in higher incremental network investments, equipment costs, and other operating expenses,” the company tells Karl Bode. “In an effort to maintain reasonable monthly recurring service fees, we have implemented a higher installation fee for Ultra customers.”

The new fee is scheduled to begin Oct. 16.

In July, Charter simplified its broadband tiers, leaving customers with two choices: 30Mbps (250GB limit) for $50 a month or 100Mbps (500GB limit) for $110 a month. The company eliminated modem rental charges at that time.

Charter Communications’ new CEO Thomas Rutledge loves Connecticut so much, he is moving the company’s executive headquarters to a new facility in Stamford — just minutes from his tony estate in New Canaan —  at taxpayer expense.

Rutledge has been running Charter, based in St. Louis, largely from Connecticut and a temporary executive suite in New York City since he accepted the position days after quitting as Cablevision’s chief operating officer in December, 2011.

But instead of relocating to St. Louis, Rutledge will force about 100 employees to quit or move to Connecticut, with taxpayers picking up the tab. Charter blamed the move, in part, on the downsizing of St. Louis’ airport which company spokesperson Jessica Hardecke said hampered the ability of the company’s employees to visit its cable systems in 25 states.

Under the terms of the corporate welfare deal, Charter will receive a 10-year loan of $6.5 million financed at 2%, with principal payments deferred for three years. If Charter meets modest job milestone requirements, the loan’s balance will be transferred to state taxpayers who will pay it back in part or in full, depending on Charter’s job growth performance. The company has promised to add up to 200 jobs in Stamford, which will earn them an added bonus. The package allows Charter the opportunity to access up to $2 million in grant funding — $1 million for each additional 50 corporate jobs they bring to Connecticut. The company can also receive $1 million in grants if it adds 100 jobs. The grants are capped at $2 million.

News reports indicate Charter is eyeing 70,000 square feet of premium office space in a 15-story high rise in downtown Stamford shared with UBS Financial Services and Harmon International.

Rutledge has a long history of stubbornly sticking close to home. While an executive at Cablevision, he refused to move closer to the company’s headquarters on Long Island, requiring the cable company to provide a helicopter service that flew him back and forth from Connecticut every day.

Rutledge

Rutledge could have self-financed the entire move out of his personal compensation. His four-year pay package at Charter is worth about $90 million, according to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Two other former senior executives who left Cablevision to join Rutledge at Charter may have known Rutledge would never move to Missouri. Neither Charter’s chief operating officer or chief marketing officer have put their New York City-area homes up for sale. Now they don’t have to.

St. Louis officials were shocked by the decision, and were fuming about the company’s surprise announcement Oct. 2, because nobody gave them an opportunity to make a counteroffer to get Charter’s executives to stay.

Steve Johnson, executive vice president for economic development at the Regional Chamber and Growth Association, wasn’t given a chance to change Charter’s mind either. “You never want to lose corporate headquarters and the cachet that goes with them,” Johnson says. “But I’m not sure there was anything we could do to influence this one.”

County Executive Charlie Dooley was more succinct: “I don’t believe [Rutledge] wanted to come to St. Louis.”

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/KMOV St Louis Charter Moving to Conn 10-2-12.mp4[/flv]

KMOV in St. Louis reports local officials were unpleasantly surprised with Charter’s sudden announcement, but were partly mollified with promises Charter would hire an additional 300 modestly paid customer service workers in St. Louis (without any taxpayer incentives) between now and the end of the year. (2 minutes)

 [flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/KTVI St Louis Charter Moving Headquarters Out of St Louis Area 10-2-12.flv[/flv]

KTVI in St. Louis notes Charter’s executive exit from Missouri has become a political issue, with Republicans complaining the state has to do even more for businesses to keep this from happening again. (2 minutes)