Analysts ponder Charter, Univision futures as debt payments loom
by Darren Murph 
posted Jan 2nd 2009 at 6:31AM
We've known for years that Charter Communications isn't what you'd call a "stellar" cable operator, but we had no idea things were looking this dire for the outfit. According to a new report surfacing at Reuters, the St. Louis-based MSO is currently holding a net debt of around $21 billion, and it has purportedly said that it may need to "go into bankruptcy to deal with that burden." In order to stay afloat this long, it has "refinanced and extended its maturities every year since 2004," and just before Christmas it asked a longtime financial adviser to "start talks with bondholders to boost its financial flexibility." In related news, things aren't looking much brighter for Spanish-language media giant Univision, which recently reported a stiff 25% drop in automotive advertising. For awhile, it seemed the media firms were almost untouchable, but the recent downturns in the economy could be taking their toll on a few mainstays. Ah well, at least Charter subscribers can now somewhat justify those rate increases... somewhat.
Filed under: Industry, Misc, Cable, New content
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:45AM
Univision has been the biggest mystery to me. How can a network as big as Univision has survived on "Sabado Gigante" and novelas (soaps) is beyond me. I have not seen a show worth watching on that network since I was a kid. Back then, I had no choice with only one tv in the house and others tuning to Univision. This network is the BET of the Hispanic community, nothing but non-productive garbage is all they broadcast.
Ryan @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:34PM
I wish someone would buy Charter. I have to them for high speed internet, and used to have them for cable. Compared to them, Directv is a saint. These people charge you off the wall for services that are terrible at best. I know this hurts to say but Comcast or TWC please buy them and upgrade their network PLEASE.
LB @ Jan 2nd 2009 4:08PM
Good riddance! Hello FIOS