The face of cable television service in southern Santa Barbara County is expected to change as the result of a massive merger.
Charter Communications and Cox Communications have announced a $34.5 billion deal which would create the nation's largest cable TV company, with 38 million customers.
The Cox systems would adopt the Spectrum branding. But, the new parent company would operate under the Cox name.
Cox Cable has provided cable and internet service to the southern Santa Barbara County area for decades. In its heyday, Cox provided local programming like local sports and broadcasts of events like the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade.
The change could be good news for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball fans in the region.
Because of the cost involved, Cox never reached a deal to carry Spectrum's exclusive coverage of the team. It's a standard part of Spectrum's service in Southern California, so the move could bring games to the region.
Spectrum also operates a 24 hour regional cable news channel, Spectrum News 1, which would likely be added to service in Santa Barbara County.
