Charter Communications Closes $34.5 Billion Merger With Cox—Forming New Cable Giant

BreakingBusinessBreaking NewsCharter Communications Closes $34.5 Billion Merger With Cox—Forming New Cable GiantByZachary Folk,Forbes Staff. I cover breaking news.Follow AuthorAug 20, 2026, 11:37am EDTToplineSpectrum operator Charter Communications and Cox closed their $34.5 billion deal to merge into a single cable giant on Thursday, and announced Cox customers can expect access to Spectrum plans beginning in mid-September.The massive cable merger first announced in 2025 cleared its final regulatory hurdle in California last week.Associated PressKey FactsCharter was already the largest cable provider in the country with 31 million customers, and after merging with Cox’s 6 million customers the new company will serve 37 million across 45 states.Charter acquired the privately-owned Cox with a combination of stock and $4 billion in cash, in a deal valued at roughly $34.5 billion.The company also purchased Liberty Broadband, the company that had an ownership stake in Charter owned by billionaire “Cable Cowboy” John Malone, in an all-stock deal.The new company will be called Cox Communications, and Charter’s former president and CEO Chris Winfrey will continue as CEO of the new company.The closure came one week after the companies cleared the last legal hurdle, when the California Public Utilities Commission voted to approve the deal after the companies guaranteed consumer protections and investment to expand broadband access for customers in the Golden State. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const prel...