Comcast CEO Brian Roberts could soon be crooning the Rodgers and Hart Broadway tune “I’ll Take Manhattan.”
The cable boss, reporting fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, is reportedly close to a deal, that may land it a prized New York City cable systems.
The deal being weighed, with Charter Communications, would allow Comcast to buy three major Time Warner Cable systems if Charter is able to work with TWC brass on its proposed acquisition terms, according to a report.
The deal would include systems in New York City, North Carolina and New England, the report said.
In a note Monday, top cable and telecom sector analyst Craig Moffett said the news is a game changer.
Such a deal (which is not yet cemented), say industry sources, would remove the prospect of a white-knight bid from Comcast.
“That’s self-evidently good news for Charter shareholders,” wrote Moffett, “But it is probably good news for TWC shareholders as well, as it increases the probability that TWC’s board would enter into constructive negotiations with the combined Charter/Comcast bidder.”
There have been concerns that a Charter purchase of run at TWC would leave the combined entity with too much debt.
This contingency deal may give Charter the chance to pad its $132.50 per share offer and make it more palatable to TWC management, according to the report, from Bloomberg.
Whether regulators the Federal Communications Commission would bless such an acquisition remains to be seen.
The Cable Act of 1992 held cable operators to just 30 percent of subscribers, but that cap ended in 2009.
The telecommunications giants now play a much bigger role in challenging cable for subscribers, and over-the-top over the top companies such as Hulu and Netflix are also rivals.
Roberts has told analysts the company, when reporting its results Tuesday, will add video subscribers for the first time in years in its Tuesday report.