Throwing the Flag on the Cox/Charter Merger
Charter and Cox want to close a multibillion-dollar mega-merger. Let’s be clear: this deal could sideline millions of fans. Both Cox and Charter have a well-documented track record of blackouts and high-stakes carriage disputes that have shut fans out of watching their favorite teams. Remember missing that key rivalry game because of a contract fight? They’re one of the culprits. Now they want to grow bigger, gain more leverage, and jack up the pressure on fans who’ve ditched cable in favor of streaming. That’s not a merger. That’s a recipe for more blackouts, more frustration, and less access for fans.
After the deal was announced we issued the following statement:
“Sports fans should be concerned about this deal given the history of blackouts on Cox and Charter that shut fans out of the games we paid to watch. As more sports move online, will a bigger Charter ISP lead to more throttling, blocking, or gatekeeping that would be a shakedown aimed squarely at cord-cutting sports fans? Sports Fans Coalition will be looking into these and other questions as federal and state agencies review the deal, so stay tuned!”
Streaming Fans in the Crosshairs?
As more games move online, a merged Cox-Charter could become a dangerous gatekeeper for broadband access — controlling how fast, how clear, and how available your game day stream is. Will we see more throttling? New data caps? Pay-to-play schemes just to watch our home teams?
It's more than just streaming the game in your living room, it's also about enjoying your fandom on-the-go. Charter, through the Verizon MVNO deal that added to Charter's new distribution market power, could position themselves to force their own big bundles onto unsuspecting fans. Even though Charter correctly refused to pay programmers twice, once for the linear programming and again for the app, could they be positioning themselves to cram down their own big bundles? The concerns compound when you factor in the Xumo Stream Box. Will that make Charter an even bigger gatekeeper?
That’s the real endgame here. Not better service. Not lower prices. But a bigger monopoly that could shake down sports fans who’ve already said “enough” to bloated cable bundles. Sports fans deserve reassurances that more negotiating leverage will mean more choice, smaller bundles, and lower prices, rather than more blackouts, fewer choices, and higher fees.
Fans Who Watch Linear TV are Not out of the Woods, Either
Let’s talk about blackouts — the bane of sports fans everywhere. For years, cable giants like Cox and Charter have used carriage disputes as leverage in business negotiations, and fans have paid the price. Between the two companies, fans have been blacked out for hundreds of days. For example, Cox Communications left fans across the country in the dark after their negotiations with Diamond Sports Group fell through, blacking-out broadcasts for 18 regional sports networks, including teams like the Twins, Braves, and Cardinals. Charter Spectrum pulled the plug on fans countless times. But recently, their 2023 fight with Disney led to ESPN going dark right before college football kickoff and the US Open.
To be fair, programmers also play a major role in blackouts – it’s not always the distributor’s fault. However, the more power consolidated by one party of those carriage deals, the worse it could be for fans. That’s why we are calling on Cox/Charter to agree to baseball style arbitration with a standstill during any programming dispute, like what the FCC required in DIRECTV/News Corp, if the programmer is willing to agree to the same thing. Fans shouldn’t suffer through blackouts while two behemoths battle it out.
So What Happens Now?
Sports fans shouldn't be benched in backroom deals. We’ll be digging into this merger, talking to regulators, and working tirelessly to ensure your games remain affordable and accessible. This game isn’t over, and we’re not sitting out the second half. We’ll be fighting to make sure that sports fans – no matter how they watch their games – aren’t blacked out or throttled.
Are you a Charter or Cox subscriber? Tell us how they’ve blocked you from your games by filling out the form below.
