Capital spending at cable TV companies will ease as consumers switch to Apple (AAPL) TV, Roku and gaming boxes, says MoffettNathanson in a research report. While cable set-top boxes will stick around to an extent, pay-TV service providers should see lower CPE (customer premise equipment) costs, says analyst Craig Moffett. Also lowering costs, Comcast (CMCSA), Charter Communications (CHTR) and other firms will also be done transitioning to
Approval of the Charter Communications (CHTR) acquisition of Time Warner Cable could be pushed back to June, as California state regulators take a close look at the cable TV industry merger. Charter, on its Q3 earnings call on Oct. 29, already had said TWC deal approval could slide into the first quarter of next year. Now it seems it might slide further. Nevertheless, while Comcast’s (CMCSA) proposed acquisition of TWC — announced in February 2013
Calling the video business “a melting ice cube,” SunTrust Robinson Humphrey initiated coverage of the cable TV industry with a mostly neutral view, though Charter Communications (CHTR) mustered a buy rating. Inder Singh, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson, doled out neutral ratings to Comcast (CMCSA), Time Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems (CVC). On Comcast, the biggest cable TV firm, Singh said: “Its balance sheet is almost unrivaled in its