Cable Companies Enlist Local Charities to Lobby for Mega-Merger

Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks have donated millions of dollars over the years to charities and nonprofits. Now those groups are repaying that generosity by endorsing the cable companies’ massive three-way merger.

Dozens of small non­profits—from the Hispanic Leadership Alliance to a Tennessee chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure—have filed letters with the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to approve the deal. The letters from the non­profit organizations often highlight Charter’s commitment to offer low-cost Internet to low-income families, its promise to expand high-speed Internet to more areas, or its decision to carry TV channels aimed at minority communities. But many of the organizations also explicitly point to financial support from the cable companies as a reason for endorsing the deal.