Two of the country’s biggest cable providers—Comcast and Charter—are circling rival Time Warner Cable, America’s second largest provider in terms of subscribers.

Charter is already close to making a bid for Time Warner, according to several reports, but the emergence of Comcast as a potential suitor adds a new wrinkle to their plans.

The LA Times reported that Time Warner reached out to its larger rival to discuss a possible acquisition in the hopes of foiling Charter’s plans.

Time Warner execs are said to be worried about any deal that didn’t provide maximum value for shareholders, and Charter’s much smaller size is a source of concern.

But Comcast and Charter could team up to buy Time Warner, and then divide the company’s assets between them, with Charter taking the California operations while Comcast swallows the New York area.

Analysts said that Comcast could be looking to strengthen its hand against Netflix and other streaming content providers by creating a content juggernaut that could extract higher fees in exchange for their shows.

Read More: LA Times, DealBook, a

Brief Take: With the cost of creating content rising even higher, a Comcast-TWC tie-up could help Comcast raise more cash to produce new properties.

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