Even though Time Warner chmn/CEO Richard Parsons downplayed the goings on among the media heavyweights gathered this week in Sun Valley, ID, we’d still like full access to the meeting venues and golf courses. Sure, Parsons told reporters the execs "are dealing in a lot bigger issues than we used to—flat earth, terrorism, war—than just deals," but how many other soirees find Google boss Eric Schmidt holding court with reporters at a hotel bar, railing against Viacom (the media concern has sued Google’s YouTube for copyright infringement). Also at the summit, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei apprised Reuters of the benefits he sees in acquiring all if DirecTV. The DBS op offers "a good business and having access to those cashflows, being able to have it operate synergistically with our content businesses can be attractive under the right conditions," said Maffei. Meanwhile Charter chmn Paul Allen apparently expects more M&A among US cable ops, who are experiencing intense acquisition pressure due to widespread expansion into broadband and phone services. "There are undeniable economies of scale that you get with programming and other parts of your business," Allen told repoorters.

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Friday–January 30

Charter Posts First Video Gains Since 2020

Charter’s streak of video declines came to a halt Friday when the company announced 44,000 total video net additions in 4Q25. And while it might not be a trend Charter sees as holding true in the long term, for now, it can celebrate a feat it hasn’t been able to say in 21 quarters.

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