Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Charter
Search every verified Thomas Rutledge interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. During Charter Communications' first quarter 2020 earnings call on April 30, 2020, Thomas Rutledge discussed the company's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that in mid-March, Charter pledged to offer free Spectrum Internet for 60 days to households with students or educators without a subscription, later extending the offer through June 30. Rutledge attributed the performance of Charter's network to significant investments and a pro-investment regulatory climate, and he praised the FCC's decision to free up 1,200 megahertz of six gigahertz spectrum for Wi-Fi as a "transformational step." Rutledge also addressed the impact of sports programming on content costs, stating that sports is the "major driver" and makes the product "difficult to sell" due to consumer costs. He expressed a desire to pass sports programming costs back to customers if events are not paid for or do not occur, but noted that contractual bundling limits control. He added that revenue growth would be lower than anticipated, but operating cost improvements and capital expenditure delays would support cash flow growth.
“We committed to offer Spectrum Internet for free for 60 days to households with students or educators who do not already have a Spectrum Internet subscription. We also committed to suspend collection activities, not terminate service, for residential or small or medium business customers who are experiencing COVID-19 r...”
“In early April, we increased our wage for all hourly field operations and customer service call center employees by a dollar fifty per hour. We also committed to raising our minimum wage for hourly workers to at least 20 dollars an hour over the next two years. For 60 days, no employee will be laid off or furloughed.”
“The FCC's action to free up twelve hundred megahertz of six gigahertz spectrum for Wi-Fi is a transformational step toward broadband in America. It was a bold move, and we look forward to making significant use of the spectrum.”
“Sports is the major driver in the cost of content. My guess is that if sports was not involved in the negotiations for the creation of that cost, it would be less than half of what it is. We would love to pass through the sports programming cost back to the customer if it isn't paid or the events don't occur.”
Charter Communications Inc (NASDAQ: CHTR) Q1 2020 Earnings Call Transcript https://news.alphastreet.com/charter-...
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