Related: Charter Posts Strong Q4
Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge told analysts Friday morning that the company’s failed pursuit of Time Warner Cable wasn’t about lowering programming costs, adding that the mid-sized cable operator’s biggest opportunity for increasing scale lies within its own footprint.
Charter had pursued TWC for about eight months, launching an unsolicited $132.50 per share bid for the cable giant on Jan. 13. On Feb. 13, Comcast bested that offer with its own $158.82 per share proposal for TWC.
On a conference call with analysts to discuss fourth quarter results, Rutledge said that contrary to some opinions, Charter’s pursuit of scale – TWC would have added about 11 million customers to its existing 4 million subscribers – wasn’t about lowering programming costs.
