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bankruptcy posts

Court sides with Charter, takes DirecTV ads pointing out bankruptcy off the air

by Richard Lawler posted May 15th 2009 at 1:19PM

It seems DirecTV has gone out of its way to let Charter customers know about the cable company's bankruptcy proceedings, airing ads that said there was no way it could continue to provide more HD channels and that customers needed to be saved from its bankruptcy. Apparently the U.S. District Court in St. Louis agreed the ads went too far in implying the company might be liquidating or about to stop offering service, issuing a temporary restraining order barring the ads. This is far from the first time the law has had to jump in on one side or another of TV providers ads, we're just wondering when they'll jump in on ads touting "choices," highlighting broadband speed without mentioning bandwidth caps and pushing HD channels without copping to known overcompression issues.

Stereophile mag's parent company hits hard times

by Steven Kim posted May 3rd 2009 at 9:39AM

Stereophile headstoneWe've been steering around stories related to the woeful state of the economy -- and even trying to add some sunshine of our own -- because, frankly, writing about an endless string of companies hitting hard times is just depressing. But the bankruptcy of Source Interlink, parent company of Stereophile magazine, strikes a nostalgic chord for us. Our introduction to the crazy audiophile world came through the folio-sized pages, but recent glances at magazine racks show a slimming magazine and a move towards the nosebleed price regime of the high-end. We don't think that the growth in consumer audio -- and (gasp) convenience -- is at odds with high performance, and one magazine is hardly a bellwether for an entire market; but it's clear that manufacturers need to do more than put high-grade finishes and price tags on their goods to enjoy a healthy business that can survive changing trends in today's market. But we'd love to hear your thoughts -- what's your take on the health of high-end audio?

Charter Communications files for prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy

by Darren Murph posted Mar 29th 2009 at 12:35PM


We knew the flagging Charter Communications was looking to file for Chapter 11 on or before April 1st, and rather than waiting until Wednesday and fielding questions of whether or not the whole thing was "a joke," said carrier has gone ahead and made things official here in March. This past Friday, the fourth largest cable company filed for its prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to stave off hungry creditors and look for ways to keep afloat. The good news is that it's hoping to emerge from bankruptcy as early as this summer, and at least currently, it's not planning to sell any of its assets to competitors. Of note, Charter has failed to post a single profit since going public in 1999, so one shouldn't be shocked at the $8 billion debt figure that the filing will restructure. Good luck out there Charter, you're going to need it.

Charter Communications to file for bankruptcy

by Darren Murph posted Feb 12th 2009 at 2:28PM Breaking News


Okay, so we hate to be blunt, but if there was one cable carrier out there just waiting to crash, it was Charter. The company famous for engaging in less-than-forthright contest practices and perpetually finding ways to perturb subscribers has just announced that a Chapter 11 filing isn't too far away. In fact, a recent press release makes clear that it "intends to implement its financial restructuring through a Chapter 11 filing to be initiated on or before April 1, 2009." As per the agreement, all debt holders will reportedly be paid in full, with Paul Allen keeping the largest voting interest in the company. Of course, shareholders' stake in the company will be canceled, but the decision will supposedly reduce debt by around $8 billion. As expected, the company has assured subscribers that its services will continue to operate throughout the debt restructuring process, but we wouldn't expect service to get any better in the coming months.

[Via AP, thanks Vanbrothers]

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.

The many faces of Tweeter call it quits

by Steven Kim posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 1:29AM

Tweeter stores closing
The long-suffering Tweeter chain has thrown in the towel and closed its remaining stores, including those under the Sound Advice, Showcase and HiFi Buys banners. We heard about the Sound Advice news almost a month ago, so there's a definite note of inevitability to this news. CEPro is reporting that the future of the unsold inventory which was cleared out of the Tweeter distribution centers when liquidators stepped in and now sitting on showroom floors remains in question. It's definitely been a rocky year or so for the Tweeter chain, which has already come back from bankruptcy once before, but somehow we think the current economic climate will make for a long hibernation this time around.

Syntax-Brillian waves the white flag, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

by Darren Murph posted Jul 8th 2008 at 12:45PM Breaking News

So yeah, apparently that whole attempt to "streamline operations" back in April didn't go over so well, as Syntax-Brillian -- you know, that firm neck deep in panel partnerships and responsible for Olevia HDTVs -- has just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Arizona-based company has also "entered into a deal to sell certain of its assets to a newly created company called Olevia International Group LLC," which has agreed to pick up some $60 million of its secured debt. We're also told that operations in Tempe have ceased, and "about eight employees" (including the finance chief, general counsel and finance staff) are sticking around with nothing better to do.

[Thanks, Paul]

MovieBeam to have one last go at it?

by Darren Murph posted May 6th 2008 at 4:02PM


When MovieBeam shut down operations last December, we had a feeling we wouldn't be mourning for long, but we definitely didn't see it playing out like this. Reportedly, Movie Gallery is asking for bankruptcy court approval to sell its VOD service to one Dar Capital Limited for a cool $2.25 million. Should the deal go down, the firm would technically pick up 1,800 customers who had once shelled out for the dedicated set-top-box -- but really, why on Earth would any halfway sane investor exhume this thoroughly decomposed corpse and attempt to breathe new life into it?




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