Do A Charter?

Are any High Country media outlets going to report on the possibly fast-approaching Charter Cable bankruptcy? We were just thinking that it might be something worth covering--you know, since Charter provides most of the High Country area with cable service.

Might all of the Charter Cable subscribers soon become Time Warner subscribers? And did you know that Charter Cable is carrying a debt load of "around $4,000 a subscriber"? From Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A debt reorganization by Charter Communications Inc (CHTR.O) could foreshadow a bankruptcy filing and will likely kick off a new wave of U.S. cable consolidation in the next year.
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The fourth-largest U.S. cable operator, Charter is highly leveraged with more than $21 billion of debt on its balance sheet versus a market capitalization of just $57 million. The poor capital structure distorts the valuation, experts say.

For instance, No. 2 U.S. cable company Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N), widely acknowledged as a likely buyer of Charter's cable systems, is valued at around $2,400 a subscriber by analysts at Miller Tabak, while Charter's debt load is currently around $4,000 a subscriber.

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If Charter does file for bankruptcy, most long-time cable watchers and insiders expect Time Warner Cable and larger operator Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) to "do an Adelphia." In 2005, both companies combined to buy up the cable systems of the bankrupt Adelphia, which made sense for their respective operations.

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"Do an Adelphia"? That's gotta hurt. Full article here.

Oh--and hey, anything that leads to more media consolidation in 2009 would be just super. You know, since the last round of consolidation went so well.