Local cable ops become internet providers

Smaller and mid‑size cable companies are responding to unsustainable pay‑TV losses by shutting down television services and repurposing their physical networks (coax/fiber) to sell broadband instead. That pivot both reduces local video competition and increases the strategic value of last‑mile infrastructure for ISPs and platforms. — The shift creates new regulatory and market questions about broadband competition, consumer prices, digital access, and whether platform content exclusives should be treated as anticompetitive.