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http://www.wsj.com/articles/fcc-chairman-reached-out-to-time-warner-cable-charter-ceos-1432244216?mod=wsj_nview_latest

FCC Chairman Reached Out to Time Warner Cable, Charter CEOs

FCC’s Tom Wheeler indicated agency not opposed to any and all potential cable deals

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has a message for cable chiefs: Just because regulators leaned against the Comcast Corp.- Time Warner Cable Inc. merger doesn’t mean all future cable deals are doomed.

In recent days, Mr. Wheeler individually called Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Rob Marcus and Charter Communications Inc. CEO Tom Rutledge, as well as other cable executives, to convey that they shouldn’t assume the agency is against any and all future cable deals just because the FCC’s staff wasn’t convinced the Comcast deal was in the public interest, according to people familiar with the calls.

In the conversations, Mr. Wheeler didn’t raise any particular potential deal, and neither did the cable CEOs. Mr. Wheeler told them that any deal would be assessed on its own merits, the people said.

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With rumors of potential tie-ups and deal talks swirling through the cable industry since Comcast abandoned its $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable in April, executives and investors have been wondering how much consolidation the government will actually allow.

Mr. Wheeler’s calls were intended to clear the air in response to recent public statements from cable executives, including from Time Warner Cable’s Mr. Marcus who recently expressed uncertainty about the regulatory climate for future cable deals. At last week’s MoffettNathanson investor conference, Mr. Marcus said he didn’t know whether other deals could get done “because I don’t understand the rationale that informed the decision with respect to Time Warner Cable-Comcast. It’s hard to make a calculus as to where the line ought to be drawn.”

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Mr. Wheeler saw some of the industry executives’ statements as a significant over-reading of the FCC staff’s stance on the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal, one person familiar with the matter said. But in the calls, Mr. Wheeler did signal that he would like to see more competition among cable companies, which historically haven’t competed with each other in the same geographic areas.

Mr. Wheeler indicated that it would help competition if cable companies step outside of their exclusive territories and “overbuild” into each other’s service areas and directly compete for customers.Time Warner Cable, in particular, has been the subject of much deal speculation of late.

Since the Comcast merger fell apart, Charter has been in talks with Time Warner Cable about a deal, people familiar with the matter have said. And this week, a new player entered the U.S. cable consolidation game: European telecommunications group Altice SA.

Altice bought a controlling stake in U.S. cable operator Suddenlink Communications and is in talks with Time Warner Cable, other people familiar with the matter said.

None of this is even to mention the smaller, closely held Bright House Networks, which has held talks with Charter and Time Warner Cable. Plus, Cablevision has hinted that it may be interested in a combination with another New York cable company.