By Fox23.com News Staff
STAMFORD, CONN. — Charter Communications, Inc. announced Thursday it has completed its acquisition of Cox Communications and is actively folding it into its Spectrum brand.
Company executives said there would be no pricing changes for Cox customers who want to keep their current products, but in mid-September, in addition to the Cox brand going away, Spectrum products will soon be offered in what are today Cox markets, which include much of Oklahoma.
“The addition of Cox to the Spectrum footprint is one that can be celebrated by customers, employees and investors alike,” said Chris Winfrey, Charter President and CEO. “Together, we will bring the best products, at the best price, coupled with the highest level of customer service to more customers across our expanded 45-state Spectrum footprint. And Cox employees will soon have access to all the programs and benefits that have made Charter an employer of choice where its 100% U.S.-based employees can build long-term careers.”
Winfrey said in a conference call, which FOX23 was a part of, that he believed many Oklahoma customers would find lower prices and strong promotional offerings when compared to what is offered now by Cox and what will be available with Spectrum.
“There will be no change to tv service or price packages for Cox customers if they want to keep what they have,” Winfrey said. “But I think when people see what we’re now offering, they’ll notice lower prices than what is available to them now through Spectrum.”
Cox, Winfrey said, never really competed with Spectrum. They worked in separate markets, and this should be seen more of an expanded footprint for a growing company rather than one company buying another to consolidate and cutback.
“The full product will be available for Cox customers [in Oklahoma] by mid-September,” Winfrey said.
When it came to Oklahoma City and Tulsa’s call centers, Charter said it was moving many of Cox’s overseas call center work back to the U.S. and said they valued Americans handling customer service to U.S. customers, and so call centers in Oklahoma played a role in the new company
“These employees are meaningful and important to us, but we don’t know of any concrete plans for Oklahoma,” he said, aside from saying that the Cox work that was overseas would conclude in the coming months.
In a news release about services being offered in the future and changes customers will notice over the course of the next year, Charter leadership stated the following:
To welcome its new customers, Spectrum is offering a free year of mobile service to Cox internet customers who don’t already subscribe to Cox Mobile; the first of many benefits Spectrum will offer. In mid-September, Spectrum plans to launch its entire suite of products to all consumers, including existing customers, in former Cox markets offering Spectrum’s simple and transparent pricing and packaging, greater value and more opportunities to save.
Spectrum Internet and Spectrum Mobile work together over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and are supported by approximately 45 million WiFi access points across the country, delivering a faster, more seamless experience than standalone 5G. Spectrum’s Seamless Connectivity bundle delivers the most reliable service and helps customers save with Spectrum’s $1,000 savings guarantee.
For Video, Spectrum’s Seamless Entertainment brings live TV and popular streaming apps together, all in one place. Spectrum TV Select plans include ad-supported streaming apps like Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited, Discovery+, HBO MAX, Paramount+, Peacock, AMC+, ViX, Tennis Channel, and FOX One, providing up to $127 of monthly retail value at no extra cost. The Spectrum TV App, the highest-rated pay TV streaming app and the most viewed streaming service in the U.S. on an hours per household basis, lets customers stream, pause, and rewind live TV, plus watch On Demand and DVR, on phones, tablets and the most popular streaming devices. And with the Xumo Stream Box with voice remote, Spectrum makes it easy to search and switch between live TV and the most popular streaming apps.
Within the next year, Cox customers also will benefit from Spectrum’s industry-first Customer Service Commitments, which include:
- 100% U.S.-based customer service team available 24/7.
- fixing service disruptions quickly, including same-day technician dispatch when requested before 5:00 pm; if not, the next day.
- providing customers with credits for outages that last longer than two hours.
