Cable companies miss tru2way deadline, insist it's no big deal
by Richard Lawler 
posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 4:13AM
charter 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.Charter's Moxi 3012 HD DVR rollout reaches Wisconsin
by Richard Lawler posted Apr 28th 2009 at 10:29PM
Looking for a Moxi box without paying $799 (even in easy monthly payments) up front? We got the heads up that Charter is expanding the footprint for its Cable HD DVR 3012 multistream CableCARD box, starting with Wisconsin. Apparently following a successful test in St. Louis Charter is ready to deploy 23,000 of the set-top boxes in 2009 and make it the primary DVR in the area. No official word from Charter on the new hardware yet, but the trend of Digeo actually shipping units is one we can get used to.[Thanks, Anonymous]
Canoe's targeted ads set sail for households with income to spend
by Steven Kim posted Apr 21st 2009 at 11:26PM
The six cable companies involved with Canoe Ventures -- Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House -- will be turning loose the targeted ad technology that has been in the works for a while now. Especially in the midst of the economic crunch, you just know that tax brackets are going to drive the tailoring of the bespoke ads, which go by the friendly name of CAM (community addressable messaging). Fully interactive ads will have to wait for tru2way, so for now CAM 1.0 will swap in one of two versions of a spot, depending on whether the destination is in a zone designated as "over $100,000." We foresee some interesting water cooler discussions ahead as coworkers report seeing different ads at halftime and thus give away some personal info.Charter Communications files for prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy
by Darren Murph posted Mar 29th 2009 at 12:35PM
Charter Communications to file for bankruptcy
by Darren Murph posted Feb 12th 2009 at 2:28PM 
[Via AP, thanks Vanbrothers]
Charter launching 60Mbps broadband, asks "FiOS what?"
by Darren Murph posted Jan 29th 2009 at 3:33PM
FCC's Martin fines nine carriers on his way out the door
by Steven Kim posted Jan 21st 2009 at 6:09PM
On the eve of his resignation, now-former FCC chairman Kevin Martin got in one last shot against nine of the biggest cable companies -- including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox and Charter -- to the tune of $25,000 each. Citing the MSOs (Multiple System Operators) for failing to respond to the FCC's investigation of how they moved channels from analog to digital tiers, additional fines were then added on, bringing the total damages to all nine companies to a cool $510,000. Top honors go to Time Warner, which racked up a $137,000 bill. Wielding his poisoned pen, Martin wrote that the actions of the MSOs "... exhibits contempt for the FCC's authority," and by forcing customers to pay for digital set-top boxes, "... customers have been receiving less from the cable companies but paying the same price." Strong words, but would we wouldn't expect anything less from the FCC chairman who oversaw some of the biggest changes in telco this country's seen.[Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
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.Most Belo-owned stations finally permitted for transmission on Charter
by Darren Murph posted Dec 31st 2008 at 5:58PM
It's been a long, long time since Belo-owned stations were transmitted on Charter systems (what, two years or something now?), but the two are finally burying the hatchet before 2009... or partially burying it, anyway. According to Belo, 11 of its 15 markets can finally see Belo-owned locals in SD and HD on Charter, including KMOV-TV in St. Louis, WFAA in Dallas / Fort Worth, WCNC-TV in Charlotte and KONG-TV in Seattle / Tacoma. Few details about the actual agreement were made public, but we're just stoked that the two have finally made amends.[Thanks, Shane]
Charter brings four new HD channels to St. Louis, Missouri
by Darren Murph posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 3:19AM
Charter Communications isn't abstaining from expanding HD channels as the holiday season approaches, as it has announced that four new high-def stations have launched alongside four digital SD nets in St. Louis, Missouri. Available now are Food Network HD (760), HGTV HD (761), National Geographic HD (768), Golf HD (772), Hallmark Movie Channel (122), ReelzChannel (145), American Life TV (146) and The Sportsman Channel (772). According to Steve Trippe, Vice President and General Manager of Charter's St. Louis operations, the carrier now provides "more than 400 HD choices that are instantly available at any time," which definitely does not translate into a remarkable amount of linear HD channels. Still, nice to have a few new ones, right STL?Charter nearly ready to deploy Digeo's 3012 HD DVR
by Darren Murph posted Nov 23rd 2008 at 11:01PM
While Digeo is still floundering around trying to find some solid footing, it has managed to secure two fine deals with cable providers. Charter Communications was scheduled to have Digeo's latest box out and about in its markets some time back, but recent reports suggest that the testing is simply taking longer than anticipated. The delay has had some people guessing that Charter was planning to call the whole deal off, but a company spokeswoman has chimed in to assert that it's in the "final stages" of testing the Moxi 3012 HD. We can't help but wonder how long this so-called final stage will take to work though, though.Charter Communications makes some pricing changes of its own
by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2008 at 12:38PM
We've already seen Mediacom and Comcast fess up to forthcoming price hikes, and now we've got Charter Communications pulling some of the same tricks. Recently, the cable carrier announced that (at least in some locales) it will be pushing the price of Expanded Basic up by $2 per month while lowering the HD Ultra View tier by $3 per month. Granted, "many" HD channels are being moved from the latter into the former, but there are the facts. On a positive note, the basic cable package, high-speed internet and digital phones prices are all staying put, so yeah, it could definitely be worse.Charter CTO talks up 2009 plans: HD expansion, DOCSIS 3.0, etc.
by Darren Murph posted Oct 13th 2008 at 3:20AM
Charter's CTO, Marwan Fawaz, recently sat down with MultiChannel to talk business, particularly business plans for 2009. Some of the highlights included his confession that DOCSIS 3.0 would only be piloted in a select few markets next year, his admission that the carrier wouldn't reach its goal of 40 HD channels across its entire footprint, and his completely unrelated blabbering when asked about tru2way. More specifically, Fawaz noted that it was "adding a significant amount of HD channels," but rather than just tossing in linear networks, it's adding on-demand. Not everything was less-than-stellar news, however, as he did state that it was just about ready to tee up switched digital video in a number of regions (albeit a tad late), Los Angeles included. We'd say you could hit the read link for a look at the full interview, but unless you're looking for reasons to feel depressed, we'd actually advise against it.[Thanks, Josh]
Charter shifts channels to add HD stations in Fond du Lac, WI
by Darren Murph posted Oct 11th 2008 at 10:49AM
Charter's not going all-digital just yet in the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin region, but it is making some changes to make room for additional high-def material. Thanks to a recent realignment, a few analog channels have been moved to the digital tier, which will not only mean more expense for those currently operating sans a digital STB, but freed bandwidth that can be used for new high-definition channels. According to Lisa Washa, Charter's vice president and general manager, the "number one request it gets from customers is for more HD channels," though judging by CTO Marwan Fawaz's comments, you'd think the carrier just wasn't listening. At any rate, you Fond du Lac customers can look forward to an undisclosed amount of new HD options "later this month."
