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Cord-Nevers Clobbering Cable: Analyst

NEW YORK — Credit Suisse media analyst Stefan
Anninger thinks cable subscribers could decline
by more than 200,000 homes in 2012, mainly due
to “cord-nevers,” or young consumers who never
had cable and don’t see a need to buy it.

Pay TV subscribers were relatively flat in the
third quarter — estimates ranged from a positive
6,000 subscribers to a negative 50,000 customers
— coming off a second-quarter decline of
about 437,000 customers.

In a report, Anninger claimed that since churn is not
on the rise and some cable operators have shown an
ability to at least temper their customer losses in the
near-term, the declines are more due to customers
that never get service, rather than those that cut the
cord for Internet video, the so-called cord-nevers.

Anninger did not signal doom for the pay TV industry
nor is he warning that pay TV subscribers
will drop dramatically in the next few years. But
he believes hoping things will improve with the
economy is “Pollyannaish.” And ignoring the risks
“will not help solve an issue that has the potential
to become an enormous problem,” he said.

Charter to Refinance Debt

ST. LOUIS — Charter Communications said it will
issue $750 million in bonds to help refinance up to
$1 billion in debt.

The senior unsecured notes, which will mature
in 2020, will be used to finance a separate tender
offer for up to $1
billion in notes
that come due
between 2012
and 2016, according
to a filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission Nov. 30. Charter also will use its revolving
credit facility to help fund the refinancing.

Liberty Makes German Concessions

NEW YORK — Liberty Global’s nine-month quest to
acquire German cable operator KBW should come
to a close around Dec. 15, when regulators in that
country are expected to rule
on the deal.

Moody’s Investors Service
said LGI has made several
concessions to ease regulatory
fears, most recently allowing
early termination rights to
specified housing associations with long-term multiple
dwelling unit contracts with LGI’s Unitymedia
unit or KBW.

Such moves should settle the German government’s
concern that allowing the KBW purchase
would further exacerbate the existing regional
oligopoly for delivering cable service to apartment
buildings in the country.

If the deal is approved, Unitymedia would still
be the second largest cable operator in Germany
with about 7 million customers. Kabel Deutschland
would remain the largest with about 8.7 million
customers.

LGI first proposed the KBW acquisition in March.