Original Coverage: Cable giants Charter and Cox are merging — but don’t expect the cord-cutting bloodbath to reverse

Charter and Cox announced plans on Friday to merge in a $34.5 billion deal. The deal could offer the companies a lifeline at a time when the pay-TV business is on shaky ground. The new entity would be called Cox Communications and adopt Charter’s Spectrum branding for customers. The transaction is expected to close in the next two years, pending approval from the Trump administration. The combined company would be better equipped to battle Comcast in broadband internet, cellphone service, and pay TV, analysts say. The merger is a “no-brainer,” media analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak of Pivotal Research Group said. “Our video losses are probably the best in the MVPD industry,” Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said on a call announcing the deal. “And we intend to improve that,” Winfrey told Business Insider in an interview. “But I’m not in position to go forecast that today … it can be better than what it is on its current trajectory”

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