Why Charter Succeeded With FCC Where Comcast Failed

[Commentary] Abandon all hope ye who enter here" is written above the gates of hell in Dante's Inferno. And for many broadcasters, multichannel video programming distributors, and telecommunication companies, it might as well be inscribed above the Federal Communications Commission's Portals. In The Divine Comedy, there are nine circles of suffering for unrepentant souls—limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. Here in Washington, there are just as many layers of suffering. For any company seeking regulatory redemption, merger review can be a painful and protracted purge. Just ask Comcast.

The FCC has all but approved Charter Communications' $56 billion merger with Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Brighthouse Systems, which will make it the nation's second largest cable company behind Comcast. This is no small feat. We all remember that it was Charter's initial bid to buy TWC in 2014 that spawned Comcast's move on TWC for $45 billion. That deal failed when Comcast abandoned the effort in the face of well-organized opposition. Thus, Charter should be applauded for its adroit ambulation through the Portals to close a very big deal. So why did it succeed? There are a few reasons, but none more telling than that it was willing and able to make a deal with the devil. In other words, Charter did anything and everything necessary to keep its merger intact, including co-opting critics, kowtowing to threats, and making promises that will be hard to keep. But then again, facing a $2 billion breakup penalty can bring urgency and creativity to even the stodgiest companies.

[Adonis Hoffman is Chairman of Business in the Public Interest and adjunct professor in Communication, Culture & Technology at Georgetown University]