On the heels of the announcement of a massive merger that crashed the industry, another has been approved. Earlier today, THR Charter Communications is reportedly merging with Cox Communications. Charter is the nation’s second-largest cable company, known by its public-facing name Spectrum, with more than 32 million subscribers in more than 40 states, and the merger will add Cox’s 6 million subscribers. according to hollywood reporterThe combined entity will operate under the Cox name and consumer products will be marketed as Spectrum. After the merger, the larger cable provider pledged to invest billions of dollars to upgrade its network, especially in rural areas.
Of course, because this is Brendan Carr’s FCC, we can’t enjoy news of another multibillion-dollar merger without reminding readers of three of the most feared words in the English language: diversity, equity, and inclusion. “By approving this agreement, the FCC has secured a major win for Americans,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “This agreement means jobs that would have been shipped overseas will come back to the United States. It means more communities in rural America will have modern, high-speed networks. It means customers will have access to lower-priced plans. On top of that, the agreement provides protections against DEI discrimination.”
As one of the architects of Project 2025, Carr made DEI’s identity politics a touchstone of his tenure at the FCC and used it as a cudgel to unsubtlely silence those seeking approval. “Any business that is seeking FCC approval, I would encourage them to get busy ending any objectionable forms of DEI discrimination,” he said last March. Since then, he has used his position to impose his political leanings on private companies, including CBS, which has implored CBS to appoint a conservative monitor to ensure the FCC approved Skydance’s merger with Paramount, among other insults. More recently, he has sought to use his power over the aforementioned mergers to, in no uncertain terms, encourage network affiliates seeking FCC approval to get a head start. Jimmy Kimmel Live.
