Say Good Riddance To Time Warner Cable

(RTTNews) - It's time to bid adieu to Time Warner Cable. Charter Communications, Inc. (CHTR) said Wednesday that it has closed its previously announced $55-billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and the related $10.4-billion acquisition of smaller cable provider Bright House Networks LLC from Advance/Newhouse Partnership.

According to Charter Communications, the combination of Charter, TWC and Bright House will create a broadband services and technology company that will serve over 25 million customers in 41 states. Charter's new service will be called Spectrum.

Tom Rutledge, Chairman and CEO of Charter Communications also said in a statement, "Current Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable customers won't see many changes right away, though in the coming months they will begin to hear more from us about the Spectrum brand, and the product improvements and consumer friendly policies that come with it."

In May 2015, Charter had agreed to buy Time Warner Cable in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $78.7 billion, including debt. The deal came a month after the largest U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp. (CMCSK, CMCSA) abandoned its $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable amid regulatory resistance.

Customers are disgusted with the services provided by cable companies. According to a study conducted by the American Customer Satisfaction Index or ACSI last year, Internet service providers and subscription TV services companies, including cable and satellite TV, continue to disappoint with their services.

The lowest score in the survey was reported by Time Warner Cable and Mediacom Communications, with a score of 51 out of 100. Comcast dropped 10 percent from the prior year to a score of 54.