Last week, Spectrum took the next step towards buying another a small cable TV company.
After reaching a purchase agreement with Astrea in November, Spectrum and its parent, Charter Communications, is now seeking federal approval to transfer certain assets and authorizations held by the smaller company.
Through the transaction, Spectrum said it would acquire Astrea’s assets related to telephone, cable TV, and internet services along with its customers, according to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission.
“Immediately following completion of the Transaction, Astrea’s customers will continue to receive service on the same terms and conditions from the Charter Entities without interruption or disruption,” Spectrum said in the filing.
This comes after another small cable company in Michigan reached a deal to sell its cable system to Spectrum in December for $5 million. Prior to that, Spectrum said it was purchasing Main-based Bee Line Cable last March. The deal comes as many smaller and mid-sized cable companies have struggled to stay in business, with many killing their TV business in favor of just internet access or shutting down completely.
Astrea provides “advanced communication services, including telecommunications, high-speed Internet, video, and VoIP services” to more than 60 rural communities in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company was originally known as Packerland Broadband when it formed in 2007 and later rebranded to Astrea in 2019.
Astrea customers would be joining Spectrum’s 30.6 million broadband users and 14.3 million video subscribers.
Spectrum is set to release its fourth quarter earnings and full report for 2023 on February 2. It’s possible we may learn more about the deal at that time.
Astrea wasn’t immediately available for comment.
The news was spotted earlier by Policyband.
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