0001091667-21-000022 | 10-K | XBRL Viewer | Charter Communications INC MO

Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	Dec. 31, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Document Annual Report	true
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2020
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	001-33664
Entity Registrant Name	Charter Communications, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001091667
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2020
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	84-1496755
Entity Address, Address Line One	400 Atlantic Street
Entity Address, City or Town	Stamford
Entity Address, State or Province	CT
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	06901
City Area Code	203
Local Phone Number	905-7801
Title of 12(b) Security	Class A Common Stock $.001 Par Value
Trading Symbol	CHTR
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Public Float		$ 75.8
Documents Incorporated by Reference	Information required by Part III is incorporated by reference from Registrant’s proxy statement or an amendment to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed no later than 120 days after the end of the Registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Class A Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	193,730,992
Class B Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	1

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 998	$ 3,483
Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $194 and $151, respectively	2,201	2,227
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	707	761
Total current assets	3,906	6,471
RESTRICTED CASH	3	66
INVESTMENT IN CABLE PROPERTIES:
Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $31,639 and $27,656, respectively	34,357	34,591
Customer relationships, net	5,615	7,453
Franchises	67,322	67,322
Goodwill	29,554	29,554
Total investment in cable properties, net	136,848	138,920
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS	3,449	2,731
Total assets	144,206	148,188
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	8,867	8,885
Current portion of long-term debt	1,008	3,500
Total current liabilities	9,875	12,385
LONG-TERM DEBT	81,744	75,578
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES	18,108	17,711
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES	4,198	3,703
Preferred stock; $0.001 par value; 250 million shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding	0	0
Additional paid-in capital	29,000	31,405
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	(5,195)	40
Total Charter shareholders’ equity	23,805	31,445
Noncontrolling interests	6,476	7,366
Total shareholders’ equity	30,281	38,811
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	144,206	148,188
Class A Common Stock
Common stock	0	0
Class B Common Stock
Common stock	$ 0	$ 0

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (PARENTHETICALS) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
CURRENT ASSETS:
Accounts receivable, allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 194	$ 151
INVESTMENT IN CABLE PROPERTIES:
Property, plant and equipment, accumulated depreciation	$ 31,639	$ 27,656
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)	250,000,000	250,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Class A Common Stock
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	900,000,000	900,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	193,730,992	209,975,963
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	193,730,992	209,975,963
Class B Common Stock
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	1,000	1,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	1	1
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	1	1

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
REVENUES	$ 48,097	$ 45,764	$ 43,634
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
Operating costs and expenses (exclusive of items shown separately below)	29,930	29,224	27,860
Depreciation and amortization	9,704	9,926	10,318
Other operating expenses, net	58	103	235
Total costs and expenses	39,692	39,253	38,413
Income from operations	8,405	6,511	5,221
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES):
Interest expense, net	(3,848)	(3,797)	(3,540)
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(143)	(25)	0
Loss on financial instruments, net	(15)	(54)	(110)
Other pension benefits (costs), net	(66)	(69)	192
Other expense, net	(31)	(135)	(77)
Total other income (expenses)	(4,103)	(4,080)	(3,535)
Income before income taxes	4,302	2,431	1,686
Income tax expense	(626)	(439)	(180)
Consolidated net income	3,676	1,992	1,506
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(454)	(324)	(276)
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$ 3,222	$ 1,668	$ 1,230
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO CHARTER SHAREHOLDERS:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 15.85	$ 7.60	$ 5.29
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 15.40	$ 7.45	$ 5.22
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	203,316,483	219,506,735	232,356,665
Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted (in shares)	209,273,247	223,786,380	235,525,226

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY - USD ($) $ in Millions	Total	Common Stock Class A Common Stock	Common Stock Class B Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Total Charter Shareholders’ Equity	Noncontrolling Interests
Balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 47,531	$ 0	$ 0	$ 35,253	$ 3,832	$ (1)	$ 39,084	$ 8,447
Roll Forward of Consolidated Shareholders' Equity:
Consolidated net income	1,506	0	0	0	1,230	0	1,230	276
Stock compensation expense	285	0	0	285	0	0	285	0
Accelerated vesting of equity awards	5	0	0	5	0	0	5	0
Exercise of stock options	69	0	0	69	0	0	69	0
Changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net	(1)	0	0	0	0	(1)	(1)
Cumulative effect of accounting changes	69	0	0	0	62	0	62	7
Purchases and retirement of treasury stock	(4,399)	0	0	(2,055)	(2,344)	0	(4,399)	0
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(622)	0	0	(104)	0	0	(104)	(518)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	(18)	0	0	54	0	0	54	(72)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	(153)	0	0	0	0	0	0	(153)
Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	44,272	0	0	33,507	2,780	(2)	36,285	7,987
Roll Forward of Consolidated Shareholders' Equity:
Consolidated net income	1,992	0	0	0	1,668	0	1,668	324
Stock compensation expense	315	0	0	315	0	0	315	0
Exercise of stock options	118	0	0	118	0	0	118	0
Changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net	2	0	0	0	0	2	2
Purchases and retirement of treasury stock	(6,873)	0	0	(2,465)	(4,408)	0	(6,873)	0
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(805)	0	0	(240)	0	0	(240)	(565)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	(56)	0	0	170	0	0	170	(226)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	(154)	0	0	0	0	0	0	(154)
Balance at Dec. 31, 2019	38,811	0	0	31,405	40	0	31,445	7,366
Roll Forward of Consolidated Shareholders' Equity:
Consolidated net income	3,676	0	0	0	3,222	0	3,222	454
Stock compensation expense	351	0	0	351	0	0	351	0
Exercise of stock options	184	0	0	184	0	0	184	0
Issuance of equity	23	0	0	23	0	0	23	0
Purchases and retirement of treasury stock	(11,217)	0	0	(2,760)	(8,457)	0	(11,217)	0
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(1,262)	0	0	(606)	0	0	(606)	(656)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	(131)	0	0	403	0	0	403	(534)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	(154)	0	0	0	0	0	0	(154)
Balance at Dec. 31, 2020	$ 30,281	$ 0	$ 0	$ 29,000	$ (5,195)	$ 0	$ 23,805	$ 6,476

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Consolidated net income	$ 3,676	$ 1,992	$ 1,506
Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net income to net cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	9,704	9,926	10,318
Stock compensation expense	351	315	285
Noncash interest income, net	(41)	(106)	(307)
Other pension (benefits) costs, net	66	69	(192)
Loss on extinguishment of debt	143	25	0
Loss on financial instruments, net	15	54	110
Deferred income taxes	465	320	110
Other, net	(10)	158	180
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from acquisitions and dispositions:
Accounts receivable	26	(505)	(98)
Prepaid expenses and other assets	(124)	(397)	(270)
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other	291	(103)	125
Net cash flows from operating activities	14,562	11,748	11,767
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment	(7,415)	(7,195)	(9,125)
Change in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures	(77)	55	(470)
Purchases of wireless spectrum licenses	(464)	0	0
Real estate investments through variable interest entities	(183)	(148)	(21)
Other, net	(18)	(43)	(120)
Net cash flows from investing activities	(8,157)	(7,331)	(9,736)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Borrowings of long-term debt	15,754	19,685	13,820
Repayments of long-term debt	(12,094)	(13,309)	(10,769)
Payments for debt issuance costs	(125)	(103)	(29)
Issuance of equity	23	0	0
Purchase of treasury stock	(11,217)	(6,873)	(4,399)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	184	118	69
Purchase of noncontrolling interest	(1,462)	(885)	(656)
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	(154)	(154)	(153)
Borrowings for real estate investments through variable interest entities, net	122	0	342
Other, net	16	(112)	(112)
Net cash flows from financing activities	(8,953)	(1,633)	(1,887)
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH	(2,548)	2,784	144
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, beginning of period	3,549	765	621
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, end of period	1,001	3,549	765
CASH PAID FOR INTEREST	3,866	3,963	3,865
CASH PAID FOR TAXES	$ 123	$ 71	$ 45

Organization and Basis of Presentation (Notes)	12 Months Ended
Organization and Basis of Presentation (Notes)	Dec. 31, 2020
Organization and Basis of Presentation [Abstract]
Organization and Basis of Presentation	Organization and Basis of Presentation Organization Charter Communications, Inc. (together with its controlled subsidiaries, “Charter,” or the “Company”) is a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator. Over an advanced high-capacity, two-way telecommunications network, the Company offers a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet, TV, Mobile and Voice. For small and medium-sized companies, Spectrum Business® delivers the same suite of broadband products and services coupled with special features and applications to enhance productivity, while for larger businesses and government entities, Spectrum Enterprise provides highly customized, fiber-based solutions. Spectrum Reach® delivers tailored advertising and production for the modern media landscape. The Company also distributes award-winning news coverage, sports and high-quality original programming to its customers through Spectrum Networks and Spectrum Originals. Charter is a holding company whose principal asset is a controlling equity interest in Charter Communications Holdings, LLC (“Charter Holdings”), an indirect owner of Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Charter Operating”) under which substantially all of the operations reside. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions among consolidated entities have been eliminated. Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Areas involving significant judgments and estimates include capitalization of labor and overhead costs, impairments of franchises and goodwill, pension benefits and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform with the 2020 presentation.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Charter and all entities in which Charter has a controlling interest, including variable interest entities ("VIEs") where Charter is the primary beneficiary. The Company consolidates based upon evaluation of the Company’s power, through voting rights or similar rights, to direct the activities of another entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance; its obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity; and its right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity. Charter controls and consolidates Charter Holdings. The noncontrolling interest on the Company’s balance sheet primarily represents Advance/Newhouse Partnership's (“A/N”) minority equity interests in Charter Holdings. See Note 11. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions among consolidated entities have been eliminated in consolidation.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. These investments are carried at cost, which approximates market value.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash represents amounts held in escrow related to the Company's build-to-suit lease arrangement with a VIE. See Note 6. The amounts held in escrow are classified as noncurrent restricted cash in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company's restricted cash was primarily invested in a federal funds deposit account.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Additions to property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost, including all material, labor and certain indirect costs associated with the construction of cable transmission and distribution facilities. While the Company’s capitalization is based on specific activities, once capitalized, costs are tracked on a composite basis by fixed asset category at the cable system level and not on a specific asset basis. For assets that are sold or retired, the estimated historical cost and related accumulated depreciation is removed. Costs associated with the placement of the customer drop to the dwelling and the placement of outlets within a dwelling along with the costs associated with the deployment of new customer premise equipment necessary to provide video, Internet or voice services are capitalized. Costs capitalized include materials, direct labor and overhead costs. The Company capitalizes direct labor and overhead using standards developed from actual costs and applicable operational data. The Company calculates standards annually (or more frequently if circumstances dictate) for items such as the labor rates, overhead rates, and the actual amount of time required to perform a capitalizable activity. Overhead costs are associated with the activities of the Company’s personnel who assist in installation activities and consist of compensation and other indirect costs associated with these support functions. Indirect costs primarily include employee benefits and payroll taxes, and vehicle and occupancy costs. The costs of disconnecting service and removing customer premise equipment from a dwelling and the costs to reconnect a customer drop or to redeploy previously installed customer premise equipment are charged to operating expense as incurred. Costs for repairs and maintenance are charged to operating expense as incurred, while plant and equipment replacement, including replacement of certain components, betterments, including replacement of cable drops and outlets, are capitalized.

Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line composite method over management’s estimate of the useful lives of the related assets as follows:


Cable distribution systems						6-22 years
Customer premise equipment and installations						3-8 years
Vehicles and equipment						6-21 years
Buildings and improvements						8-40 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment						2-10 years

Asset Retirement Obligations

Certain of the Company’s franchise agreements and leases contain provisions requiring the Company to restore facilities or remove equipment in the event that the franchise or lease agreement is not renewed. The Company expects to continually renew its franchise agreements and therefore cannot reasonably estimate any liabilities associated with such agreements. A remote possibility exists that franchise agreements could be terminated unexpectedly, which could result in the Company incurring significant expense in complying with restoration or removal provisions. The Company does not have any significant liabilities related to asset retirements recorded in its consolidated financial statements.

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets

The Company evaluates the recoverability of long-lived assets (e.g., property, plant and equipment and finite-lived intangible assets) to be held and used when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Such events or changes in circumstances could include such factors as impairment of the Company’s indefinite life assets, changes in technological advances, fluctuations in the fair value of such assets, adverse changes in relationships with local franchise authorities, adverse changes in market conditions or a deterioration of current or expected future operating results. If a review indicates that the carrying value of such asset is not recoverable from estimated undiscounted cash flows, the carrying value of such asset is reduced to its estimated fair value. While the Company believes that its estimates of future cash flows are reasonable, different assumptions regarding such cash flows could materially affect its evaluations of asset recoverability. No impairments of long-lived assets held for use were recorded in 2020, 2019 and 2018. For non-strategic long-lived assets held for sale and ultimately sold, the Company recorded impairments of approximately $42 million and $75 million during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, to other operating expenses, net.

Leases

The primary leased asset classes of the Company include real estate, dark fiber, colocation facilities and other equipment. The lease agreements include both lease and non-lease components, which the Company accounts for separately depending on the election made for each leased asset class. For real estate and dark fiber leased asset classes, the Company accounts for lease and non-lease components as a single lease component and includes all fixed payments in the measurement of lease liabilities and lease assets. For colocation facilities leased asset class, the Company accounts for lease and non-lease components separately including only the fixed lease payment component in the measurement of lease liabilities and lease assets.

In addition to fixed lease payments, certain of the Company’s lease agreements include variable lease payments which are tied to an index or rate such as the change in the Consumer Price Index. These variable payments are not included in the measurement of the lease liabilities and lease assets.

Lease assets and lease liabilities are initially recognized based on the present value of the future lease payments over the expected lease term. As for most leases the implicit rate is not readily determinable, the Company uses a discount rate in determining the present value of future payments based on the yield-to-maturity of the Company’s secured publicly traded United States dollars denominated debt instruments interpolating the duration of the debt to the term of the executed lease.

The Company’s leases have base rent periods and some with optional renewal periods. Leases with base rent periods of less than 12 months are not recorded on the balance sheet. For purposes of measurement of lease liabilities, the expected lease terms may include renewal options when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise such options. Based on conditions of the Company's existing leases and its overall business strategies, the majority of the Company's renewal options are not reasonably certain in determining the expected lease term. The Company will periodically reassess expected lease terms (and purchase options, if applicable) based on significant triggering events or compelling economic reasons to exercise such options.

The Company’s primary lease income represents sublease income on certain real estate leases. Sublease income is included in other revenue and presented gross from rent expense. For customer premise equipment ("CPE") where such CPE would qualify as a lease, the Company applies the practical expedient to combine the operating lease with the subscription service revenue as a single performance obligation in accordance with revenue recognition accounting guidance as the subscription service is the predominant component.

Other Noncurrent Assets

Other noncurrent assets primarily include investments, wireless spectrum licenses, trademarks, customer contract costs and other intangible assets. The Company accounts for its investments in less than majority owned investees under either the equity method or as equity securities. The Company applies the equity method to investments when it has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee. The Company’s share of the investee’s earnings (losses) is included in other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company monitors its investments for indicators that a decrease in investment value has occurred that is other than temporary. If it has been determined that an investment has sustained an other than temporary decline in value, the investment is written down to fair value with a charge to earnings. Investments acquired are measured at fair value utilizing the acquisition method of accounting. The difference between the fair value and the amount of underlying equity in net assets for most equity method investments is due to previously unrecognized intangible assets at the investee. These amounts are amortized as a component of equity earnings (losses), recorded within other expense, net over the estimated useful life of the asset. Wireless spectrum licenses and trademarks have been determined to have an indefinite life and are tested annually for impairment. Customer contract costs are deferred in other noncurrent assets for upfront costs incurred to obtain a customer contract and upfront costs to fulfill a customer contract, as further discussed below under the Customer Contract Costs accounting policy.

Revenue Recognition

Nature of Services

Residential Services

Residential customers are offered Internet, video, and voice services primarily on a subscription basis. Residential customers may generally cancel their subscriptions at the end of their monthly service period without penalty. Each subscription service provided is accounted for as a distinct performance obligation and revenue is recognized ratably over the monthly service period as the subscription services are delivered. Each optional service purchased is generally accounted for as a distinct performance obligation when purchased and revenue is recognized when the service is provided.

Residential Internet customers receive data download and upload services with speeds dependent on the selected tier of service. Customers are also offered a security suite, an in-home WiFi product, and an out-of-home WiFi service. Internet revenues consist primarily of data services, WiFi service fees and Internet installation fees.

Residential video customers have the option to purchase additional tiers of services, as well as video-on-demand (“VOD”) programming and pay-per-view programming on a per-event basis. Video revenues consist primarily of revenues from the selected programming service tier, as well as VOD fees, pay-per-view fees, retransmission fees, regulatory fees, equipment service fees and video installation fees.

Residential voice customers receive unlimited local and long distance calling to United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, voicemail, call waiting, caller ID, call forward and other features. Customers may also purchase international calling either by the minute, or through packages of minutes per month. Voice revenues consist primarily of voice services and regulatory fees.

Small and Medium Business

Small and medium business ("SMB") customers are offered Internet, video and voice services similar to those provided to residential customers. SMB customers may generally cancel their subscriptions at the end of their monthly service period without penalty. Each subscription service provided is accounted for as a distinct performance obligation and revenue is recognized ratably over the monthly service period as the subscription services are delivered.

Enterprise

Services to enterprise clients include more tailored communications products and managed service solutions to larger businesses, as well as high-capacity last-mile data connectivity services to mobile and wireline carriers on a wholesale basis. Services are primarily offered on a subscription basis with a contractually specified and non-cancelable service period. Each subscription service provided is accounted for as a distinct performance obligation and revenue is recognized ratably over the contract period as the subscription services are delivered. Enterprise subscription services are billed as monthly recurring charges to customers and related installation services, if applicable, are billed upon completion of the customer installation. Installation services are not accounted for as distinct performance obligations, but rather a component of the connectivity services, and therefore upfront installation fees are deferred and recognized as revenue over the related contract period.

Advertising Services

The Company offers local, regional and national businesses the opportunity to advertise in individual and multiple service areas on cable television networks and digital outlets. Placement of advertising is accounted for as a distinct performance obligation and revenue is recognized at the point in time when the advertising is distributed. In some service areas, the Company has formed advertising interconnects or entered into representation agreements with other video distributors, under which the Company sells advertising on behalf of those distributors. In other service areas, the Company has entered into representation agreements under which another operator in the area will sell advertising on the Company’s behalf. For representation arrangements in which the Company controls the sale of advertising and acts as the principal to the transaction, the Company recognizes revenue earned from the advertising customer on a gross basis and the amount remitted to the distributor as an

operating expense. For other representation arrangements in which the Company does not control the sale of advertising and acts as an agent to the transaction, the Company recognizes revenue net of any fee remitted to the distributor.

Mobile

The Company also offers mobile service to residential and SMB customers. Mobile services are sold under unlimited data plans or by-the-gig data usage plans and revenue is recognized ratably over the monthly service period as the services are delivered. Customers can purchase mobile equipment, including devices and accessory products, and have the option to pay for devices under interest-free monthly installment plans. The sale of equipment is a separate performance obligation. Revenue is recognized from the sale of equipment upon delivery and acceptance by the customer, as this is when control passes to the customer.

The Company’s revenues by product line are as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Internet	$	18,521	$	16,667	$	15,181
Video	17,432		17,607		17,348
Voice	1,806		1,920		2,114
Residential revenue	37,759		36,194		34,643

Small and medium business	3,964		3,868		3,665
Enterprise	2,468		2,556		2,528
Commercial revenue	6,432		6,424		6,193

Advertising sales	1,699		1,568		1,785
Mobile	1,364		726		106
Other	843		852		907
	$	48,097	$	45,764	$	43,634

Fees imposed on the Company by various governmental authorities are passed through on a monthly basis to the Company’s customers and are periodically remitted to authorities. Fees of $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion and $1.0 billion for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, are reported in video, voice, mobile and commercial revenues, on a gross basis with a corresponding operating expense because the Company is acting as a principal. Certain taxes, such as sales taxes imposed on the Company’s customers, collected and remitted to state and local authorities, are recorded on a net basis because the Company is acting as an agent in such situations.

A significant portion of our revenue is derived from customers who may generally cancel their monthly subscriptions at the end of their monthly service period without penalty. As such, the amount of revenue related to unsatisfied performance obligations is not necessarily indicative of the future revenue to be recognized from our existing customer base. Revenue from customers with a contractually specified term and non-cancelable service period will be recognized over the term of such contracts, which is generally two to seven years for our enterprise contracts with a weighted average term of approximately three years.

Significant Judgments in Evaluating Revenue Recognition

The Company often provides multiple services to a customer. Provision of customer premise equipment, installation services, and additional service tiers may have a significant level of integration and interdependency with the subscription Internet, video, voice, or connectivity services provided. Judgment is required to determine whether provision of customer premise equipment, installation services, and additional service tiers are considered distinct and accounted for separately, or not distinct and accounted for together with the subscription services.

Allocation of the transaction price to the distinct performance obligations in bundled residential service subscriptions requires judgment. The transaction price for a bundle of residential services is frequently less than the sum of the standalone selling prices of each individual service. The Company allocates the residential services bundle discount among the services to which

the discount relates based on the relative standalone selling prices of those services. Standalone selling prices for the Company’s residential Internet and video services are directly observable, while standalone selling price for the Company’s residential voice service is estimated using the adjusted market assessment approach which relies upon information from peers and competitors who sell residential voice services individually.

The Company believes residential and SMB non-refundable upfront installation fees charged to customers result in a material right to renew the contract as such fees are not required to be paid upon subsequent renewals. The residential and SMB upfront fee is deferred over the period the fee remains material to the customer, which the Company has estimated to be approximately six months. Estimation of the period the fee remains material to the customer requires consideration of both quantitative and qualitative factors including average installation fee, average revenue per customer, and customer behavior, among others.

Deferred Revenue Contract Liabilities

Timing of revenue recognition may differ from the timing of invoicing to customers. Residential, SMB, and enterprise customers are invoiced for subscription services in advance of the service period. Deferred revenue liabilities, or contract liabilities, are recorded when the Company collects payments in advance of performing the services. Deferred revenue liabilities, or contract liabilities, are also recorded when the Company invoices customers upfront for installation services that are recognized as revenue over time. Residential and SMB installation revenues are deferred over the period the fee remains material to the customer. Enterprise installation revenues are deferred using a portfolio approach over the average contract life of each enterprise service category. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, current deferred revenue liabilities consisting of customer prepayments of $363 million and $366 million, respectively, and upfront installation fees of $73 million and $94 million, respectively, were included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, long-term deferred revenue liabilities consisting of enterprise upfront installation fees of $35 million and $34 million, respectively, were included in other long-term liabilities.

Customer Contract Costs

The Company recognizes an asset for incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if the amortization period of those costs is expected to be longer than one year and the costs are expected to be recovered. Enterprise sales commission costs meet the requirements to be deferred and, as a result, are recognized using a portfolio approach over a weighted-average contract period. Deferred enterprise commission costs are included in other noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheet and totaled $138 million and $143 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As the amortization period of residential and SMB commissions costs is less than one year, the Company applies the practical expedient that allows such costs to be expensed as incurred. The Company has determined that the amortization period associated with residential and SMB commission costs is less than one year based on qualitative and quantitative factors.

The Company recognizes an asset for costs incurred to fulfill a contract when those costs are directly related to services provided under the contract, generate or enhance resources of the entity that will be used in performing service obligations under the contract, and are expected to be recovered. Right-of-entry costs represent upfront costs incurred related to agreements entered into with multiple dwelling units (“MDUs”) including landlords, real estate companies or owners to gain access to a building in order to market and service customers who reside in the building. Right-of-entry costs meet the requirements to be deferred and, as a result, are recognized over the term of the contracts. Deferred right-of-entry costs are included in other noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheet and totaled $320 million and $284 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Amortization expense of $71 million, $67 million and $62 million was included in regulatory, connectivity and produced content within operating costs and expenses in the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Residential and SMB installation costs not capitalized into property, plant and equipment are expensed as incurred under cable industry-specific guidance.

Programming Costs

The Company has various contracts to obtain video programming from vendors whose compensation is typically based on a flat fee per customer. The cost of the right to exhibit network programming under such arrangements is recorded in operating expenses in the month the programming is available for exhibition. Programming costs are paid each month based on calculations performed by the Company and are subject to periodic audits performed by the programmers. Certain programming contracts contain cash and non-cash consideration from the programmers. If consideration received does not

relate to a separate product or service, the Company recognizes the consideration on a straight-line basis over the life of the programming agreement as a reduction of programming expense. Programming costs included in the statements of operations were $11.4 billion, $11.3 billion and $11.1 billion for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs associated with marketing the Company’s products and services are generally expensed as costs are incurred.

Multiple-Element Transactions

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into multiple-element transactions where it is simultaneously both a customer and a vendor with the same counterparty or in which it purchases multiple products and/or services, or settles outstanding items contemporaneous with the purchase of a product or service from a single counterparty. Transactions, although negotiated contemporaneously, may be documented in one or more contracts. The Company’s policy for accounting for each transaction negotiated contemporaneously is to record each element of the transaction based on the respective estimated fair values of the products or services purchased and the products or services sold. In determining the fair value of the respective elements, the Company refers to quoted market prices (where available), historical transactions or comparable cash transactions. Cash consideration received from a vendor is recorded as a reduction in the price of the vendor’s product unless (i) the consideration is for the reimbursement of a specific, incremental, identifiable cost incurred, in which case the cash consideration received would be recorded as a reduction in such cost (e.g., marketing costs), or (ii) an identifiable benefit in exchange for the consideration is provided, in which case revenue would be recognized for this element.

Stock-Based Compensation

Restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock options as well as equity awards with market conditions are measured at the grant date fair value and amortized to stock compensation expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of stock options is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and the fair value of equity awards with market conditions is estimated on the date of grant using Monte Carlo simulations. The grant date weighted average assumptions used during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, were: risk-free interest rate of 1.4%, 2.5% and 2.4%; expected volatility of 27%, 27% and 25%; and expected lives of 5.5 years, 4.9 years and 5.1 years. The Company’s volatility assumptions represent management’s best estimate and were based on historical volatility. Expected lives were estimated using historical exercise data. The valuations assume no dividends are paid. The Company has elected an accounting policy to assume zero forfeitures for stock awards grants and account for forfeitures when they occur.

Defined Benefit Pension Plans

The Company sponsors qualified and unqualified defined benefit pension plans that provide pension benefits to a majority of employees who were employed by Time Warner Cable Inc. ("TWC") before the merger with TWC. Pension benefits are based on formulas that reflect the employees’ years of service and compensation during their employment period. Actuarial gains or losses are changes in the amount of either the benefit obligation or the fair value of plan assets resulting from experience different from that assumed or from changes in assumptions. The Company has elected to follow a mark-to-market pension accounting policy for recording the actuarial gains or losses annually during the fourth quarter, or earlier if a remeasurement event occurs during an interim period.

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities and expected benefits of utilizing loss carryforwards. Since substantially all the Company’s operations are held through its partnership interest in Charter Holdings, the primary deferred tax component recorded in the consolidated balance sheet relates to the excess financial reporting outside basis, excluding amounts attributable to nondeductible goodwill, over Charter’s tax basis in its investment in the partnership. Valuation allowances are established when management determines that it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire deferred tax asset will not be realized. The impact on deferred taxes of changes in tax rates and tax law, if any, applied to the years during which temporary differences are expected to be settled, are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the period of enactment. In determining the Company’s tax provision for financial reporting purposes, the Company establishes a reserve for uncertain tax

positions unless such positions are determined to be “more likely than not” of being sustained upon examination, based on their technical merits. There is considerable judgment involved in making such a determination. Interest and penalties are recognized on uncertain income tax positions as part of the income tax provision. See Note 17.

Segments

The Company’s operations are managed and reported to its Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), the Company’s chief operating decision maker, on a consolidated basis. The CEO assesses performance and allocates resources based on the consolidated results of operations. Under this organizational and reporting structure, the Company has one reportable segment.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Abstract]

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is summarized as follows for the years presented:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Balance, beginning of period	$	151	$	129	$	113
Charged to expense	560		659		570
Uncollected balances written off, net of recoveries	(517)		(637)		(554)
Balance, end of period	$	194	$	151	$	129

Property, Plant and Equipment (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consists of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Cable distribution systems	$	33,693	$	31,542
Customer premise equipment and installations	17,756		17,492
Vehicles and equipment	1,932		1,879
Buildings and improvements	5,396		4,843
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	7,219		6,491
	65,996		62,247
Less: accumulated depreciation	(31,639)		(27,656)
	$	34,357	$	34,591

The Company periodically evaluates the estimated useful lives used to depreciate its assets and the estimated amount of assets that will be abandoned or have minimal use in the future. A significant change in assumptions about the extent or timing of future asset retirements, or in the Company’s use of new technology and upgrade programs, could materially affect future depreciation expense.

Depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was $7.8 billion, $7.8 billion, and $7.9 billion, respectively.

Franchises, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Franchises, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Franchises, Goodwill and Other Intangible AssetsFranchise rights represent the value attributed to agreements or authorizations with local and state authorities that allow access to homes in cable service areas. For valuation purposes, they are defined as the future economic benefits of the right to solicit and service potential customers (customer marketing rights), and the right to deploy and market new services to potential customers (service marketing rights).

Management estimates the fair value of franchise rights at the date of acquisition and determines if the franchise has a finite life or an indefinite life. The Company has concluded that all of its franchises qualify for indefinite life treatment given that there are no legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic or other factors which limit the period over which these rights will contribute to the Company's cash flows. The Company reassesses this determination periodically or whenever events or substantive changes in circumstances occur.

All franchises are tested for impairment annually or more frequently as warranted by events or changes in circumstances. Franchise assets are aggregated into essentially inseparable units of accounting to conduct valuations. The units of accounting generally represent geographical clustering of the Company's cable systems into groups. The Company assesses qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that an indefinite lived intangible asset has been impaired. If, after this optional qualitative assessment, the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that an indefinite lived intangible asset has been impaired, then no further quantitative testing is necessary. In completing the qualitative impairment testing, the Company evaluates a multitude of factors that affect the fair value of our franchise assets. Examples of such factors include environmental and competitive changes within our operating footprint, actual and projected operating performance, the consistency of our operating margins, equity and debt market trends, including changes in our market capitalization, and changes in our regulatory and political landscape, among other factors. The Company performed a qualitative assessment in 2020. After consideration of the qualitative factors in 2020, the Company concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the franchise assets in each unit of accounting exceeds the carrying value of such assets and therefore did not perform a quantitative analysis at the assessment date. Periodically, the Company will elect to perform a quantitative analysis for impairment testing. If the Company elects or is required to perform a quantitative analysis to test its franchise assets for impairment, the methodology described below is utilized.

If a quantitative analysis is performed, the estimated fair value of franchises is determined utilizing an income approach model based on the present value of the estimated discrete future cash flows attributable to each of the intangible assets identified assuming a discount rate. The fair value of franchises is determined based on estimated discrete discounted future cash flows using assumptions consistent with internal forecasts. The franchise after-tax cash flow is calculated as the after-tax cash flow generated by the potential customers obtained. The sum of the present value of the franchises’ after-tax cash flow in years 1 through 10 and the continuing value of the after-tax cash flow beyond year 10 yields the fair value of the franchises.

This approach makes use of unobservable factors such as projected revenues, expenses, capital expenditures, customer trends, and a discount rate applied to the estimated cash flows. The determination of the franchise discount rate is derived from the Company’s weighted average cost of capital, which uses a market participant’s cost of equity and after-tax cost of debt and reflects the risks inherent in the cash flows. The Company estimates discounted future cash flows using reasonable and appropriate assumptions including among others, penetration rates; revenue growth rates; operating margins; and capital expenditures. The assumptions are based on the Company’s and its peers’ historical operating performance adjusted for current and expected competitive and economic factors surrounding the cable industry. The estimates and assumptions made in the Company’s valuations are inherently subject to significant uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control, and there is no assurance that these results can be achieved. The primary assumptions for which there is a reasonable possibility of the occurrence of a variation that would significantly affect the measurement value include the assumptions regarding revenue growth, programming expense growth rates, the amount and timing of capital expenditures, actual customer trends and the discount rate utilized.

The Company has determined that it has one reporting unit for purposes of the assessment of goodwill impairment. The fair value of the reporting unit is determined using both an income approach and market approach. The Company’s income approach model used for its reporting unit valuation is consistent with that used for its franchise valuation noted above except that cash flows from the entire business enterprise are used for the reporting unit valuation. The Company’s market approach model estimates the fair value of the reporting unit based on market prices in actual precedent transactions of similar businesses and market valuations of guideline public companies. Goodwill is tested for impairment as of November 30 of each year, or more frequently as warranted by events or changes in circumstances. Accounting guidance also permits an optional qualitative assessment for goodwill to determine whether it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value. If, after this qualitative assessment, the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount then no further quantitative testing would be necessary. A quantitative assessment is performed if the qualitative assessment results in a more likely than not determination or if a qualitative assessment is not performed. The quantitative assessment considers whether the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, in which case an impairment charge is recorded to the extent the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. As with the Company’s franchise impairment testing, in 2020 the Company elected to perform a qualitative goodwill

impairment assessment, which incorporated consideration of the same qualitative factors relevant to the Company's franchise impairment testing. As a result of that assessment, the Company concluded that goodwill is not impaired.

Customer relationships are recorded at fair value as of the date acquired less accumulated amortization. Customer relationships, for valuation purposes, represent the value of the business relationship with existing customers, and are calculated by projecting the discrete future after-tax cash flows from these customers, including the right to deploy and market additional services to these customers. The present value of these after-tax cash flows yields the fair value of the customer relationships. The use of different valuation assumptions or definitions of franchises or customer relationships, such as our inclusion of the value of selling additional services to our current customers within customer relationships versus franchises, could significantly impact our valuations and any resulting impairment. Customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated sum of years’ digits method over useful lives of 8-15 years based on the period over which current customers are expected to generate cash flows. The Company periodically evaluates the remaining useful lives of its customer relationships to determine whether events or circumstances warrant revision to the remaining periods of amortization. Customer relationships are evaluated for impairment upon the occurrence of events or changes in circumstances indicating that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Customer relationships are deemed impaired when the carrying value exceeds the projected undiscounted future cash flows associated with the customer relationships. No impairment of customer relationships was recorded in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 or 2018.

The fair value of trademarks is determined using the relief-from-royalty method, a variation of the income approach, which applies a fair royalty rate to estimated revenue derived under the Company’s trademarks. The fair value of the intangible is estimated to be the present value of the royalty saved because the Company owns the trademarks. Royalty rates are estimated based on a review of market royalty rates in the communications and entertainment industries. As the Company expects to continue to use each trademark indefinitely, trademarks have been assigned an indefinite life and are tested annually for impairment using either a qualitative analysis or quantitative analysis as elected by management. As with the Company’s franchise impairment testing, in 2020 the Company elected to perform a qualitative trademark impairment assessment and concluded that trademarks are not impaired.

In 2020, the Company purchased approximately $464 million of Citizens Broadband Radio Service ("CBRS") priority access licenses from the Federal Communications Commission in its effort to support its mobile network. The wireless spectrum licenses are considered indefinite life intangible assets recorded in other noncurrent assets on the Company's consolidated balance sheets and payments (including deposits) are presented as an investing cash outflow on the Company’s statements of cash flows.

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, indefinite-lived and finite-lived intangible assets are presented in the following table:


	December 31,
	2020						2019
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Franchises	$	67,322	$	—	$	67,322	$	67,322	$	—	$	67,322
Goodwill	29,554		—		29,554		29,554		—		29,554
Wireless spectrum licenses	464		—		464		—		—		—
Trademarks	159		—		159		159		—		159
	$	97,499	$	—	$	97,499	$	97,035	$	—	$	97,035

Finite-lived intangible assets:
Customer relationships	$	18,230	$	(12,615)	$	5,615	$	18,230	$	(10,777)	$	7,453
Other intangible assets	420		(159)		261		405		(122)		283
	$	18,650	$	(12,774)	$	5,876	$	18,635	$	(10,899)	$	7,736

Amortization expense related to customer relationships and other intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was $1.9 billion, $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.

The Company expects amortization expense on its finite-lived intangible assets will be as follows.


2021	$	1,602
2022	1,332
2023	1,075
2024	824
2025	575
Thereafter	468
	$	5,876

Actual amortization expense in future periods could differ from these estimates as a result of new intangible asset acquisitions or divestitures, changes in useful lives, impairments, adoption of new accounting standards and other relevant factors.

Investments (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Investments [Abstract]

Investments

Investments consisted of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Equity-method investments	$	294	$	309
Other investments	19		21
Total investments	$	313	$	330

The Company’s equity-method investments consist of investments in companies that develop sports programming services; develop applications to improve the security, control and privacy of connected devices in homes and businesses for broadband network operators; sell national advertisements on behalf of multi-video program distributors; provide programming on a video on demand, pay-per-view and subscription basis; and develop and deploy cloud-based software video user interfaces.

The Company applies the equity method of accounting to these and other less significant equity-method investments, all of which are recorded in other noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, net losses from equity-method investments were $31 million, $137 million and $77 million, respectively, which were recorded in other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations. Net losses from equity-method investments for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 included impairments on equity investments of approximately $10 million, $121 million and $58 million, respectively.

The Company's equity-method investments balances reflected in the table above includes differences between the acquisition date fair value of certain investments acquired and the underlying equity in the net assets of the investee, referred to as a basis difference. This basis difference is amortized as a component of equity earnings. The remaining unamortized basis difference was $186 million and $203 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Real Estate Investments through Variable Interest Entities

In July 2018, the Company entered into a build-to-suit lease arrangement with a single-asset special purpose entity ("SPE Building 1") to build the first building in the building complex for the new Charter headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The SPE Building 1 obtained a first-lien mortgage note to finance the construction with fixed monthly payments through July 15, 2035 with a 5.612% coupon interest rate. All payments of the mortgage note are guaranteed by Charter. The initial term of the lease is 15 years commencing August 1, 2020, with no termination options. At the end of the lease term there is a mirrored put option for the SPE to sell the property to Charter and call option for Charter to purchase the property for a fixed purchase price.

In April 2020, the Company entered into a build-to-suit lease agreement with a second special purpose entity (“SPE Building 2”) to build the adjoining building and atrium, in the building complex for the new Charter headquarters. As of December 31, 2020, Charter does not guarantee the financing for SPE Building 2. The initial term of the lease is 15 years commencing February 26, 2022, with no termination options. At the end of the lease term there is a put option for the SPE Building 2 to sell the property to Charter for a fixed price. If SPE Building 2 does not exercise the put option and Company exercises its first renewal term there is call option for Charter to purchase property for a fixed purchase price in year 3 of the first renewal term.

As the Company has determined that SPE Building 1 and SPE Building 2 (collectively, the "SPEs") are variable interest entities ("VIEs") of which the Company became the primary beneficiary upon the effectiveness of the arrangements in July 2018 and April 2020, respectively, the Company has consolidated the assets and liabilities of the SPEs in its consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 as follows.


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Assets
Restricted cash	$	3	$	66
Property, plant and equipment	$	490	$	295
Liabilities
Current liabilities	$	28	$	11
Other long-term liabilities	$	470	$	350

Property, plant and equipment includes land, a parking garage and building construction costs, including the capitalization of qualifying interest. Other long-term liabilities includes mortgage note liabilities and liability-classified noncontrolling interests for the SPEs recorded at amortized cost with accretion towards settlement of the put/call option in the leases. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, other long-term liabilities include $400 million and $339 million in SPE mortgage note liability, respectively.

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities consist of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Accounts payable – trade	$	763	$	786
Deferred revenue	436		460
Accrued liabilities:
Programming costs	1,940		2,042
Labor	1,374		1,028
Capital expenditures	1,227		1,441
Interest	1,083		1,052
Taxes and regulatory fees	555		537
Property and casualty	462		458
Operating lease liabilities	235		214
Other	792		867
	$	8,867	$	8,885

Leases (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Leases [Abstract]

Operating Leases

LeasesOperating lease expenses were $439 million and $428 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, inclusive of $135 million and $130 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, of both short-term lease costs and variable lease costs that were not included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities.

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities, recorded as operating cash flows in the statements of cash flows, were $300 million and $288 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Operating lease right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligations were $378 million and $257 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases is as follows.


	December 31,
	2020			2019
Operating lease right-of-use assets:
Included within other noncurrent assets	$	1,214		$	1,092

Operating lease liabilities:
Current portion included within accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	235		$	214
Long-term portion included within other long-term liabilities	1,110			979
	$	1,345		$	1,193

Weighted average remaining lease term for operating leases	6.4 years			6.6 years
Weighted average discount rate for operating leases	3.9		%	4.4		%

Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 2020 are as follows.


2021	$	304
2022	275
2023	250
2024	211
2025	164
Thereafter	368
Undiscounted lease cash flow commitments	1,572
Reconciling impact from discounting	(227)
Lease liabilities on consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020	$	1,345

The Company has $63 million and $62 million of finance lease liabilities recognized in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, included within accounts payable and accrued liabilities and other long-term liabilities. The related finance lease right-of-use assets are recorded in property, plant and equipment, net. The Company’s finance leases were not considered material for further supplemental lease disclosures.

Long-Term Debt (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Long-Term Debt

Long-term debt consists of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020				2019
	Principal Amount		Accreted Value		Principal Amount		Accreted Value
CCO Holdings, LLC:
5.250% senior notes due September 30, 2022	$	—	$	—	$	1,250	$	1,241
5.125% senior notes due February 15, 2023	—		—		1,000		995
4.000% senior notes due March 1, 2023	500		498		500		497
5.125% senior notes due May 1, 2023	—		—		1,150		1,145
5.750% senior notes due September 1, 2023	—		—		500		497
5.750% senior notes due January 15, 2024	—		—		150		149
5.875% senior notes due April 1, 2024	—		—		1,700		1,690
5.375% senior notes due May 1, 2025	—		—		750		746
5.750% senior notes due February 15, 2026	2,500		2,475		2,500		2,471
5.500% senior notes due May 1, 2026	1,500		1,492		1,500		1,491
5.875% senior notes due May 1, 2027	800		796		800		796
5.125% senior notes due May 1, 2027	3,250		3,225		3,250		3,222
5.000% senior notes due February 1, 2028	2,500		2,472		2,500		2,469
5.375% senior notes due June 1, 2029	1,500		1,501		1,500		1,501
4.750% senior notes due March 1, 2030	3,050		3,042		3,050		3,041
4.500% senior notes due August 15, 2030	2,750		2,750		—		—
4.250% senior notes due February 1, 2031	3,000		3,001		—		—
4.500% senior notes due May 1, 2032	2,900		2,928		—		—
Charter Communications Operating, LLC:
3.579% senior notes due July 23, 2020	—		—		2,000		1,997
4.464% senior notes due July 23, 2022	3,000		2,992		3,000		2,987
Senior floating rate notes due February 1, 2024	900		902		900		902
4.500% senior notes due February 1, 2024	1,100		1,094		1,100		1,093
4.908% senior notes due July 23, 2025	4,500		4,475		4,500		4,471
3.750% senior notes due February 15, 2028	1,000		989		1,000		987
4.200% senior notes due March 15, 2028	1,250		1,241		1,250		1,240
5.050% senior notes due March 30, 2029	1,250		1,242		1,250		1,241
2.800% senior notes due April 1, 2031	1,600		1,583		—		—
2.300% senior notes due February 1, 2032	1,000		991		—		—
6.384% senior notes due October 23, 2035	2,000		1,983		2,000		1,982
5.375% senior notes due April 1, 2038	800		786		800		786
6.484% senior notes due October 23, 2045	3,500		3,468		3,500		3,467
5.375% senior notes due May 1, 2047	2,500		2,506		2,500		2,506
5.750% senior notes due April 1, 2048	2,450		2,392		2,450		2,391
5.125% senior notes due July 1, 2049	1,250		1,240		1,250		1,240
4.800% senior notes due March 1, 2050	2,800		2,797		2,800		2,798
3.700% senior notes due April 1, 2051	2,050		2,030		—		—
6.834% senior notes due October 23, 2055	500		495		500		495


3.850% senior notes due April 1, 2061	1,350		1,339		—		—
Credit facilities	10,150		10,081		10,427		10,345
Time Warner Cable, LLC:
5.000% senior notes due February 1, 2020	—		—		1,500		1,503
4.125% senior notes due February 15, 2021	—		—		700		711
4.000% senior notes due September 1, 2021	1,000		1,008		1,000		1,021
5.750% sterling senior notes due June 2, 2031 (a)	854		911		828		886
6.550% senior debentures due May 1, 2037	1,500		1,668		1,500		1,675
7.300% senior debentures due July 1, 2038	1,500		1,763		1,500		1,772
6.750% senior debentures due June 15, 2039	1,500		1,706		1,500		1,713
5.875% senior debentures due November 15, 2040	1,200		1,254		1,200		1,255
5.500% senior debentures due September 1, 2041	1,250		1,258		1,250		1,258
5.250% sterling senior notes due July 15, 2042 (b)	889		859		861		831
4.500% senior debentures due September 15, 2042	1,250		1,145		1,250		1,142
Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC:
8.375% senior debentures due March 15, 2023	1,000		1,104		1,000		1,148
8.375% senior debentures due July 15, 2033	1,000		1,270		1,000		1,284
Total debt	82,143		82,752		78,416		79,078
Less current portion:
5.000% senior notes due February 1, 2020	—		—		(1,500)		(1,503)
3.579% senior notes due July 23, 2020	—		—		(2,000)		(1,997)
4.000% senior notes due September 1, 2021	(1,000)		(1,008)		—		—
Long-term debt	$	81,143	$	81,744	$	74,916	$	75,578

(a)Principal amount includes £625 million valued at $854 million and $828 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, using the exchange rate at that date.

(b)Principal amount includes £650 million valued at $889 million and $861 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, using the exchange rate at that date.

The accreted values presented in the table above represent the principal amount of the debt adjusted for original issue discount or premium at the time of sale, deferred financing costs, and, in regards to debt assumed in acquisitions, fair value premium adjustments as a result of applying acquisition accounting plus the accretion of those amounts to the balance sheet date. However, the amount that is currently payable if the debt becomes immediately due is equal to the principal amount of the debt. In regards to the fixed-rate British pound sterling denominated notes (the “Sterling Notes”), the principal amount of the debt and any premium or discount is remeasured into US dollars as of each balance sheet date. See Note 12. The Company has availability under the Charter Operating credit facilities of approximately $4.7 billion as of December 31, 2020.

In 2020, CCO Holdings and CCO Holdings Capital Corp. jointly issued $8.65 billion aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes at varying rates, prices and maturity dates, and Charter Operating and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. jointly issued $6.0 billion aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes at varying rates, prices and maturity dates. The net proceeds were used to pay related fees and expenses and for general corporate purposes, including funding buybacks of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Holdings common units as well as repaying certain indebtedness.

During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company repurchased $10.7 billion and $1.35 billion, respectively, of various series of senior notes. Loss on extinguishment of debt consisted of the following for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
CCO Holdings notes redemption	$	(145)	$	(22)
Time Warner Cable, LLC notes redemption	2		—
Charter Operating credit facility refinancing	—		(3)
	$	(143)	$	(25)

CCO Holdings Notes

The CCO Holdings notes are senior debt obligations of CCO Holdings and CCO Holdings Capital Corp. and rank equally with all other current and future unsecured, unsubordinated obligations of CCO Holdings and CCO Holdings Capital Corp. They are structurally subordinated to all obligations of subsidiaries of CCO Holdings.

CCO Holdings may redeem some or all of the CCO Holdings notes at any time at a premium. The optional redemption price declines to 100% of the respective series’ principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on or after varying dates in 2021 through 2029.

In addition, at any time prior to varying dates in 2021 through 2023, CCO Holdings may redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of certain notes at a premium plus accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date, with the net cash proceeds of one or more equity offerings (as defined in the indenture); provided that certain conditions are met. In the event of specified change of control events, CCO Holdings must offer to purchase the outstanding CCO Holdings notes from the holders at a purchase price equal to 101% of the total principal amount of the notes, plus any accrued and unpaid interest.

High-Yield Restrictive Covenants; Limitation on Indebtedness.

The indentures governing the CCO Holdings notes contain certain covenants that restrict the ability of CCO Holdings, CCO Holdings Capital Corp. and all of their restricted subsidiaries to:

•incur additional debt;

•pay dividends on equity or repurchase equity;

•make investments;

•sell all or substantially all of their assets or merge with or into other companies;

•sell assets;

•in the case of restricted subsidiaries, create or permit to exist dividend or payment restrictions with respect to CCO Holdings, guarantee their parent companies debt, or issue specified equity interests;

•engage in certain transactions with affiliates; and

•grant liens.

The above limitations in certain circumstances regarding incurrence of debt, payment of dividends and making investments contained in the indentures of CCO Holdings permit CCO Holdings and its restricted subsidiaries to perform the above, so long as, after giving pro forma effect to the above, the leverage ratio would be below a specified level for the issuer. The leverage ratio under the indentures is 6.0 to 1.0. The leverage ratio was 3.9 as of December 31, 2020.

Charter Operating Notes

The Charter Operating notes are guaranteed by CCO Holdings and substantially all of the subsidiaries of Charter Operating. In addition, the Charter Operating notes are secured by a perfected first priority security interest in substantially all of the assets of Charter Operating and substantially all of its subsidiaries to the extent such liens can be perfected under the Uniform Commercial Code by the filing of a financing statement and the liens rank equally with the liens on the collateral securing

obligations under the Charter Operating credit facilities. Charter Operating may redeem some or all of the Charter Operating notes at any time at a premium.

The Charter Operating notes are subject to the terms and conditions of the indenture governing the Charter Operating notes. The Charter Operating notes contain customary representations and warranties and affirmative covenants with limited negative covenants. The Charter Operating indenture also contains customary events of default.

Charter Operating Credit Facilities

The Charter Operating credit facilities have an outstanding principal amount of $10.2 billion at December 31, 2020 as follows:

•term loan A-2 with a remaining principal amount of approximately $194 million, which is repayable in quarterly installments and aggregating $11 million in each loan year, with the remaining balance due at final maturity on March 31, 2023. Pricing on term loan A-2 is LIBOR plus 1.50%;

•term loan A-4 with a remaining principal amount of approximately $3.8 billion, which is repayable in quarterly installments and aggregating $202 million in each loan year, with the remaining balance due at final maturity on February 1, 2025. Pricing on term loan A-4 is LIBOR plus 1.25%;

•term loan B-1 with a remaining principal amount of approximately $2.4 billion, which is repayable in equal quarterly installments and aggregating $25 million in each loan year, with the remaining balance due at final maturity on April 30, 2025. Pricing on term loan B-1 is LIBOR plus 1.75%;

•term loan B-2 with a remaining principal amount of approximately $3.8 billion, which is repayable in equal quarterly installments and aggregating $38 million in each loan year, with the remaining balance due at final maturity on February 1, 2027. Pricing on term loan B-2 is LIBOR plus 1.75%; and

•a revolving loan allowing for borrowings of up to $4.75 billion, $249 million maturing on March 31, 2023 and $4.5 billion maturing on February 1, 2025. Pricing on the revolving loan is LIBOR plus 1.50% with a commitment fee of 0.30% on the portion maturing in 2023 and LIBOR plus 1.25% with a commitment fee of 0.20% on the portion maturing in 2025. As of December 31, 2020, $41 million of the revolving loan was utilized to collateralize a like principal amount of letters of credit out of $367 million of letters of credit issued on the Company’s behalf.

Amounts outstanding under the Charter Operating credit facilities bear interest, at Charter Operating’s election, at a base rate or LIBOR (0.14% and 1.73% as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively), as defined, plus an applicable margin.

The Charter Operating credit facilities also allow us to enter into incremental term loans in the future, with amortization as set forth in the notices establishing such term loans. Although the Charter Operating credit facilities allow for the incurrence of a certain amount of incremental term loans subject to pro forma compliance with its financial maintenance covenants, no assurance can be given that the Company could obtain additional incremental term loans in the future if Charter Operating sought to do so or what amount of incremental term loans would be allowable at any given time under the terms of the Charter Operating credit facilities.

The obligations of Charter Operating under the Charter Operating credit facilities are guaranteed by CCO Holdings and substantially all of the subsidiaries of Charter Operating. The obligations are also secured by (i) a lien on substantially all of the assets of Charter Operating and substantially all of its subsidiaries, to the extent such lien can be perfected under the Uniform Commercial Code by the filing of a financing statement, and (ii) a pledge of the equity interests directly or indirectly owned by Charter Operating in substantially all of its subsidiaries, as well as intercompany obligations owing to it and the guarantor subsidiaries by any of their affiliates.

Restrictive Covenants

The Charter Operating credit facilities contain representations and warranties, and affirmative and negative covenants customary for financings of this type. The financial covenants measure performance against standards set for leverage to be tested as of the end of each quarter. The Charter Operating credit facilities contain provisions requiring mandatory loan prepayments under specific circumstances, including in connection with certain sales of assets, so long as the proceeds have not been reinvested in the business. Additionally, the Charter Operating credit facilities provisions contain an allowance for restricted payments with certain limitations. The Charter Operating credit facilities permit Charter Operating and its subsidiaries to make distributions to pay interest on the currently outstanding subordinated and parent company indebtedness, provided that,

among other things, no default has occurred and is continuing under the Charter Operating credit facilities. The Charter Operating credit facilities also contain customary events of default.

Time Warner Cable, LLC Notes and Debentures

The Time Warner Cable, LLC ("TWC, LLC") senior notes and debentures are guaranteed by CCO Holdings, Charter Operating and substantially all of the subsidiaries of Charter Operating (other than TWC, LLC) and rank equally with the liens on the collateral securing obligations under the Charter Operating notes and credit facilities. Interest on each series of TWC, LLC senior notes and debentures is payable semi-annually (with the exception of the Sterling Notes, which is payable annually) in arrears.

The TWC, LLC indenture contains customary covenants relating to restrictions on the ability of TWC, LLC or any material subsidiary to create liens and on the ability of TWC, LLC and Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC ("TWCE") to consolidate, merge or convey or transfer substantially all of their assets. The TWC, LLC indenture also contains customary events of default.

The TWC, LLC senior notes and debentures may be redeemed in whole or in part at any time at TWC, LLC’s option at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) all of the applicable principal amount being redeemed and (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments on the applicable TWC, LLC senior notes and debentures discounted to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (with the exception of the Sterling Notes, which are on an annual basis), at a comparable government bond rate plus a designated number of basis points as further described in the indenture and the applicable note or debenture, plus, in each case, accrued but unpaid interest to, but not including, the redemption date.

The Company may offer to redeem all, but not less than all, of the Sterling Notes in the event of certain changes in the tax laws of the U.S. (or any taxing authority in the U.S.). This redemption would be at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount, together with accrued and unpaid interest on the Sterling Notes to, but not including, the redemption date.

TWCE Debentures

The TWCE senior debentures are guaranteed by CCO Holdings, Charter Operating, and substantially all of the subsidiaries of Charter Operating (other than TWCE) and rank equally with the liens on the collateral securing obligations under the Charter Operating notes and credit facilities. Interest on each series of TWCE senior debentures is payable semi-annually in arrears. The TWCE senior debentures are not redeemable before maturity.

The TWCE indenture contains customary covenants relating to restrictions on the ability of TWCE or any material subsidiary to create liens and on the ability of TWC, LLC and TWCE to consolidate, merge or convey or transfer substantially all of their assets. The TWCE indenture also contains customary events of default.

Limitations on Distributions

Distributions by the Company’s subsidiaries to a parent company for payment of principal on parent company notes are restricted under the CCO Holdings indentures and Charter Operating credit facilities discussed above, unless there is no default under the applicable indenture and credit facilities, and unless each applicable entity’s leverage ratio test is met at the time of such distribution. As of December 31, 2020, there was no default under any of these indentures or credit facilities and each applicable entity met its applicable leverage ratio tests based on December 31, 2020 financial results. There can be no assurance that they will satisfy these tests at the time of the contemplated distribution. Distributions by Charter Operating for payment of principal on parent company (CCO Holdings) notes are further restricted by the covenants in its credit facilities.

However, without regard to leverage, during any calendar year or any portion thereof during which the borrower is a flow-through entity for tax purposes, and so long as no event of default exists, the borrower may make distributions to the equity interests of the borrower in an amount sufficient to make permitted tax payments.

In addition to the limitation on distributions under the various indentures, distributions by the Company’s subsidiaries may be limited by applicable law, including the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, under which the Company’s subsidiaries may make distributions if they have “surplus” as defined in the act.

Liquidity and Future Principal Payments

The Company continues to have significant amounts of debt, and its business requires significant cash to fund principal and interest payments on its debt, capital expenditures and ongoing operations. As set forth below, the Company has significant future principal payments. The Company continues to monitor the capital markets, and it expects to undertake refinancing transactions and utilize free cash flow and cash on hand to further extend or reduce the maturities of its principal obligations. The timing and terms of any refinancing transactions will be subject to market conditions.

Based upon outstanding indebtedness as of December 31, 2020, the amortization of term loans, and the maturity dates for all senior and subordinated notes, total future principal payments on the total borrowings under all debt agreements are as follows:


2021	$	1,277
2022	3,277
2023	1,936
2024	2,265
2025	9,820
Thereafter	63,568
	$	82,143

Common Stock (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Common Stock [Abstract]

Common Stock

Charter’s Class A common stock and Class B common stock are identical except with respect to certain voting, transfer and conversion rights. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share. Charter’s Class B common stock represents the share issued to A/N. One share of Charter’s Class B common stock has a number of votes reflecting the voting power of the Charter Holdings common units and Charter Holdings convertible preferred units held by A/N as of the applicable record date on an if-converted, if-exchanged basis, and is generally intended to reflect A/N’s economic interests in Charter Holdings.

The following table summarizes our shares outstanding for the three years ended December 31, 2020:


	Class A Common Stock	Class B Common Stock
BALANCE, December 31, 2017	238,506,059	1
Exercise of stock options	576,583	—
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	10,223	—
Restricted stock unit vesting	618,649	—
Purchase of treasury stock	(14,357,707)	—
BALANCE, December 31, 2018	225,353,807	1
Exercise of stock options	1,271,419	—
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	8,284	—
Restricted stock unit vesting	728,553	—
Purchase of treasury stock	(17,386,100)	—
BALANCE, December 31, 2019	209,975,963	1
Issuance of equity	55,294	—
Exercise of stock options	3,160,065	—
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	5,992	—
Restricted stock unit vesting	753,139	—
Purchase of treasury stock	(20,219,461)	—
BALANCE, December 31, 2020	193,730,992	1

In March 2020, pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Stockholders Agreement with Liberty Broadband Corporation (“Liberty Broadband”), A/N and Charter, dated May 23, 2015, Charter, Liberty and A/N closed on transactions in which Liberty Broadband and A/N exercised their preemptive right to purchase 35,112 and 20,182 shares, respectively, of Charter Class A common stock for a total purchase price of approximately $23 million.

Share Repurchases

The following represents the Company's purchase of Charter Class A common stock and the effect on the consolidated statements of cash flows during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
	Shares	$		Shares	$		Shares	$
Share buybacks	18,444,203	$	10,639	16,697,458	$	6,734	14,108,919	$	4,322
Income tax withholding	1,022,783	578		380,797	139		224,319	77
Exercise cost	752,475			307,845			24,469
	20,219,461	$	11,217	17,386,100	$	6,873	14,357,707	$	4,399

As of December 31, 2020, Charter had remaining board authority to purchase an additional $1.5 billion of Charter’s Class A common stock and/or Charter Holdings common units. The Company also withholds shares of its Class A common stock in payment of income tax withholding owed by employees upon vesting of equity awards as well as exercise costs owed by employees upon exercise of stock options.

At the end of each fiscal year, Charter’s board of directors approves the retirement of the then currently outstanding treasury stock and those shares were retired as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. The Company accounts for treasury stock using the cost method and includes treasury stock as a component of total shareholders’ equity. Upon retirement, these treasury shares are allocated between additional paid-in capital and retained earnings (accumulated deficit) based on the cost of original issue included in additional paid-in capital.

Noncontrolling Interests (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Noncontrolling Interest [Abstract]

Noncontrolling Interests

Noncontrolling interests represents consolidated subsidiaries of which the Company owns less than 100%. The Company is a holding company whose principal asset is a controlling equity interest in Charter Holdings, the indirect owner of the Company’s cable systems. Noncontrolling interests on the Company’s balance sheet primarily includes A/N’s equity interests in Charter Holdings, which is comprised of a common ownership interest and a convertible preferred ownership interest.

As of December 31, 2020, A/N held 15.3 million Charter Holdings common units which are exchangeable at any time into either Charter Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, or, at Charter’s option, cash, based on the then current market price of Charter Class A common stock. Net income of Charter Holdings attributable to A/N’s common noncontrolling interest for financial reporting purposes is based on the weighted average effective common ownership interest of approximately 8% and was $303 million, $173 million and $125 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Charter Holdings is required to make quarterly cash tax distributions (with annual true-ups) on a pro rata basis to its partners based on the partner with the highest proportionate cash tax requirement. To the extent such tax distributions would exceed Charter’s cash tax requirements, it may waive its entitlement to tax distributions and, instead, issue a non-pro rata "advance" to A/N, which will accrue interest at a money market rate and will reduce A/N’s exchange value into cash or Charter Class A common stock. Charter Holdings distributed $3 million, $2 million and $3 million to A/N as a pro rata tax distribution on its common units during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The following table represents Charter Holdings' purchase of Charter Holdings common units from A/N pursuant to the Letter Agreement (see Note 20) and the effect on total shareholders' equity during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Number of units purchased	2,637,483		2,276,906		2,125,190
Average price per unit	$	554.37	$	388.72	$	308.90
Amount of units purchased	$	1,462	$	885	$	656
Decrease in noncontrolling interest based on carrying value	$	(656)	$	(565)	$	(518)
Decrease in additional paid-in-capital, net of tax	$	(606)	$	(240)	$	(104)

Total shareholders' equity was also adjusted during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 due to changes in Charter Holdings' ownership as follows.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Decrease in noncontrolling interest	$	(534)	$	(226)	$	(72)
Increase in additional paid-in-capital, net of tax	$	403	$	170	$	54

As of December 31, 2020, A/N also held 25 million Charter Holdings convertible preferred units with a face amount of $2.5 billion that pays a 6% annual preferred dividend. The 6% annual preferred dividend is paid quarterly in cash, if and when

declared, provided that, if dividends are suspended at any time, the dividends will accrue until they are paid. Net income (loss) of Charter Holdings attributable to A/N's preferred noncontrolling interest for financial reporting purposes is based on the preferred dividend which was $150 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018. Each convertible preferred unit is convertible into either 0.37334 of a Charter Holdings common unit (if then held by A/N) or 0.37334 of a share of Charter Class A common stock (if then held by a third party), representing a conversion price of $267.85 per unit, based on a conversion feature as defined in the Limited Liability Company Agreement of Charter Holdings. After May 18, 2021, Charter may redeem the convertible preferred units if the price of Charter Class A common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price, or $348.205 per unit for 20 days in a 30 day period. These Charter Holdings common and convertible preferred units held by A/N are recorded in noncontrolling interests as permanent equity in the consolidated balance sheet.

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Abstract]

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

The Company uses derivative instruments to manage foreign exchange risk on the Sterling Notes, and does not hold or issue derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes.

Cross-currency derivative instruments are used to effectively convert £1.275 billion aggregate principal amount of fixed-rate British pound sterling denominated debt, including annual interest payments and the payment of principal at maturity, to fixed-rate U.S. dollar denominated debt. The cross-currency swaps have maturities of June 2031 and July 2042. The Company is required to post collateral on the cross-currency derivative instruments when the derivative contracts are in a liability position. In April 2019, the Company entered into a collateral holiday agreement for 60% of both the 2031 and 2042 cross-currency swaps, which eliminates the requirement to post collateral for three years, as well as a ten year collateral cap on the remaining 40% of the cross-currency swaps which limits the required collateral posting on that 40% of the cross-currency swaps to $150 million. The fair value of the Company's cross-currency derivatives was $184 million and $224 million and is included in other long-term liabilities on its consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The Company’s derivative instruments are not designated as hedges and are marked to fair value each period, with the impact recorded as a gain or loss on financial instruments, net in the consolidated statements of operations. While these derivative instruments are not designated as hedges for accounting purposes, management continues to believe such instruments are closely correlated with the respective debt, thus managing associated risk.

The effect of financial instruments on the consolidated statements of operations is presented in the table below.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Gain (Loss) on Financial Instruments, Net:
Change in fair value of cross-currency derivative instruments	$	40	$	13	$	(212)
Foreign currency remeasurement of Sterling Notes to U.S. dollars	(55)		(67)		102
	$	(15)	$	(54)	$	(110)

Fair Value Measurements (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Fair Value Measurements [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurements

Accounting guidance establishes a three-level hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements, based on the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date, as follows:

•Level 1 – inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

•Level 2 – inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.

•Level 3 – inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

Financial Assets and Liabilities

The Company has estimated the fair value of its financial instruments as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 using available market information or other appropriate valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment, however, is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the estimates presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company would realize in a current market exchange.

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, receivables, payables and other current assets and liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments.

Financial instruments accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and classified within Level 2 of the valuation hierarchy include the Company's cross-currency derivative instruments and were valued at $184 million and $224 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The estimated fair value of the Company’s senior notes and debentures as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 is based on quoted market prices in active markets and is classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy, while the estimated fair value of the Company’s credit facilities is based on quoted market prices in inactive markets and is classified within Level 2. The carrying amount of the consolidated variable interest entity's mortgage note liability approximates fair value.

A summary of the carrying value and fair value of the Company’s debt at December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:


	December 31,
	2020				2019
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
Senior notes and debentures	$	72,671	$	84,163	$	68,733	$	74,938
Credit facilities	$	10,081	$	10,063	$	10,345	$	10,448

Non-financial Assets and Liabilities

The Company’s nonfinancial assets such as equity-method investments, franchises, property, plant, and equipment, and other intangible assets are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis; however, they are subject to fair value adjustments in certain circumstances, such as when there is evidence that an impairment may exist. When such impairments are recorded, fair values are generally classified within Level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details

Operating Costs and Expenses (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Operating Costs and Expenses [Abstract]

Operating Costs and Expenses

Operating costs and expenses, exclusive of items shown separately in the consolidated statements of operations, consist of the following for the periods presented:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Programming	$	11,401	$	11,290	$	11,124
Regulatory, connectivity and produced content	2,183		2,366		2,210
Costs to service customers	7,472		7,277		7,327
Marketing	3,031		3,044		3,042
Mobile	1,765		1,246		346
Other	4,078		4,001		3,811
	$	29,930	$	29,224	$	27,860

Programming costs consist primarily of costs paid to programmers for basic, premium, digital, video on demand and pay-per-view programming. Regulatory, connectivity and produced content costs represent payments to franchise and regulatory

authorities, costs directly related to providing video, Internet and voice services as well as payments for sports, local and news content produced by the Company. Included in regulatory, connectivity and produced content costs is content acquisition costs for the Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball games and Los Angeles Dodgers’ baseball games, which are recorded as games are exhibited over the contract period. Costs to service customers include costs related to field operations, network operations and customer care for the Company’s residential and SMB customers, including internal and third-party labor for the non-capitalizable portion of installations, service and repairs, maintenance, bad debt expense, billing and collection, occupancy and vehicle costs. Marketing costs represent the costs of marketing to current and potential commercial and residential customers including labor costs. Mobile costs represent costs associated with the Company's mobile service such as device and service costs, marketing, sales and commissions, retail stores, personnel costs, taxes, among others. Other includes corporate overhead, advertising sales expenses, indirect costs associated with the Company’s enterprise business customers and regional sports and news networks, property tax and insurance expense and stock compensation expense, among others.

Other Operating Expenses, Net (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Other Operating Expenses, Net [Abstract]

Other Operating Expenses, Net

Other operating expenses, net consist of the following for the years presented:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Special charges, net	$	90	$	61	$	150
(Gain) loss on sale of assets, net	(32)		42		85
	$	58	$	103	$	235

Special charges, net

Special charges, net primarily includes employee termination costs and net amounts of litigation settlements. During 2018, special charges, net also includes $97 million in merger and restructuring costs and a $22 million charge related to the Company's withdrawal liability from a multiemployer pension plan.

(Gain) loss on sale of assets, net

(Gain) loss on sale of assets, net represents the net gain or loss recognized on the sales and disposals of fixed assets including a $42 million and $75 million impairment of non-strategic assets during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Stock Compensation Plans (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Stock Compensation Plans [Abstract]

Stock Compensation Plans

Charter’s stock incentive plan provides for grants of nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, dividend equivalent rights, performance units and performance shares, share awards, phantom stock, restricted stock units and restricted stock. Directors, officers and other employees of the Company and its subsidiaries, as well as others performing consulting services for the Company, are eligible for grants under the stock incentive plan. The stock incentive plan allows for the issuance of up to 16 million shares of Charter Class A common stock (or units convertible into Charter Class A common stock).

Stock options and restricted stock units generally cliff vest three years from the date of grant. Certain stock options and restricted stock units vest based on achievement of stock price hurdles. Stock options generally expire ten years from the grant date and restricted stock units have no voting rights. Restricted stock generally vests one year from the date of grant.

As of December 31, 2020, total unrecognized compensation remaining to be recognized in future periods totaled $241 million for stock options, $1.0 million for restricted stock and $213 million for restricted stock units and the weighted average period over which they are expected to be recognized is 2 years for stock options, 4 months for restricted stock and 2 years for restricted stock units. The Company recorded $351 million, $315 million and $285 million of stock compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, which is included in operating costs and expenses.

A summary of the activity for Charter’s stock options for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is as follows (shares in thousands, except per share data):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020							2019							2018
	Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value		Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value		Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding, beginning of period	10,549			$	241.14			10,410			$	225.53			9,649			$	201.83
Granted	1,672			$	536.27			1,847			$	298.84			1,507			$	350.40
Exercised	(3,160)			$	191.43	$	1,176	(1,271)			$	186.90	$	247	(577)			$	133.35	$	114
Canceled	(219)			$	312.94			(437)			$	270.94			(169)			$	300.46
Outstanding, end of period	8,842			$	312.95	$	3,082	10,549			$	241.14			10,410			$	225.53

Weighted average remaining contractual life	7		years					7		years					7		years
Options exercisable, end of period	2,940			$	220.78	$	1,296	3,119			$	161.13			2,194			$	122.19
Options expected to vest, end of period	5,902			$	358.86	$	1,787
Weighted average fair value of options granted	$	148.02						$	84.39						$	94.70

A summary of the activity for Charter’s restricted stock for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is as follows (shares in thousands, except per share data):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price
Outstanding, beginning of period	8	$	359.33	10	$	297.86	10	$	343.10
Granted	6	$	504.53	8	$	359.33	10	$	297.86
Vested	(8)	$	359.33	(10)	$	297.86	(10)	$	343.10
Canceled	—	$	—	—	$	—	—	$	—
Outstanding, end of period	6	$	504.53	8	$	359.33	10	$	297.86

A summary of the activity for Charter’s restricted stock units for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is as follows (shares in thousands, except per share data):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price
Outstanding, beginning of period	2,059	$	249.45	2,211	$	219.61	2,391	$	192.96
Granted	423	$	509.64	704	$	298.22	526	$	348.75
Vested	(753)	$	194.40	(729)	$	206.88	(619)	$	216.27
Canceled	(78)	$	317.45	(127)	$	250.85	(87)	$	286.41
Outstanding, end of period	1,651	$	337.82	2,059	$	249.45	2,211	$	219.61

Income Taxes (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Substantially all of the Company’s operations are held through Charter Holdings and its direct and indirect subsidiaries. Charter Holdings and the majority of its subsidiaries are generally limited liability companies that are not subject to income tax. However, certain of these limited liability companies are subject to state income tax. In addition, the subsidiaries that are corporations are subject to income tax. Generally, the taxable income, gains, losses, deductions and credits of Charter Holdings are passed through to its members, Charter and A/N. Charter is responsible for its share of taxable income or loss of Charter Holdings allocated to it in accordance with the Charter Holdings Limited Liability Company Agreement ("LLC Agreement") and partnership tax rules and regulations. As a result, Charter's primary deferred tax component recorded in the consolidated balance sheets relates to its excess financial reporting outside basis, excluding amounts attributable to nondeductible goodwill, over Charter's tax basis in the investment in Charter Holdings.

Charter Holdings, the indirect owner of the Company’s cable systems, generally allocates its taxable income, gains, losses, deductions and credits proportionately according to the members’ respective ownership interests, except for special allocations required under Section 704(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury Regulations (“Section 704(c)”). Pursuant to Section 704(c) and the LLC Agreement, each item of income, gain, loss and deduction with respect to any property contributed to the capital of the partnership shall, solely for tax purposes, be allocated among the members so as to take into account any variation between the adjusted basis of such property to the partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and its initial gross asset value using the “traditional method” as described in the Treasury Regulations.

Income Tax Expense

For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, the Company recorded deferred income tax expense as shown below. The tax provision in future periods will vary based on current and future temporary differences, as well as future operating results.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Current benefit (expense):
Federal income taxes	$	7	$	(6)	$	(23)
State income taxes	(168)		(113)		(47)
Current income tax expense	(161)		(119)		(70)

Deferred benefit (expense):
Federal income taxes	(536)		(358)		(204)
State income taxes	71		38		94
Deferred income tax expense	(465)		(320)		(110)
Income tax expense	$	(626)	$	(439)	$	(180)

On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCR Act"), and on March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") were each enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The FFCR Act and the CARES Act contain numerous tax provisions, such as deferring payroll tax payments, establishing a credit for the retention of certain employees, relaxing limitations on the deductibility of interest, and updating the definition of qualified improvement property. This legislation currently has no material impact to income tax expense on the Company’s financial statements.

The Company’s effective tax rate differs from that derived by applying the applicable federal income tax rate of 21% for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Statutory federal income taxes	$	(903)	$	(510)	$	(354)
Statutory state income taxes, net	(122)		(57)		(54)
Change in uncertain tax positions	(57)		(64)		(24)
Nondeductible expenses	(15)		(24)		(25)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	112		80		68
Excess stock compensation	290		63		34
Federal tax credits	35		46		77
Tax rate changes	33		15		107
Other	1		12		(9)
Income tax expense	$	(626)	$	(439)	$	(180)

Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities)

The tax effects of these temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2020 and 2019 are presented below.


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Deferred tax assets:
Loss carryforwards	$	1,344	$	1,839
Accrued and other	581		664
Total gross deferred tax assets	1,925		2,503
Less: valuation allowance	(32)		(46)
Deferred tax assets	1,893		2,457

Deferred tax liabilities:
Investment in partnership	(19,996)		(20,159)
Accrued and other	(5)		(9)
Deferred tax liabilities	(20,001)		(20,168)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(18,108)	$	(17,711)

The deferred tax liabilities on the investment in partnership above includes approximately $53 million and $55 million net deferred tax liabilities relating to certain indirect subsidiaries that file separate state income tax returns at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Valuation Allowance

In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. In evaluating the need for a valuation allowance, management takes into account various factors, including the expected level of future taxable income, available tax planning strategies and reversals of existing taxable temporary differences. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, approximately $9 million and $9 million, respectively, of the valuation allowance is associated with federal capital loss carryforwards and $23 million and $37 million, respectively, is associated with state tax loss carryforwards and other miscellaneous deferred tax assets.

Net Operating Loss Carryforwards

As of December 31, 2020, Charter had approximately $5.3 billion of federal tax net operating loss carryforwards resulting in a gross deferred tax asset of approximately $1.1 billion. Federal tax net operating loss carryforwards expire in the years 2022 through 2035. These losses resulted from the operations of Charter Communications Holdings Company, LLC ("Charter Holdco") and its subsidiaries and from loss carryforwards received as a result of the merger with TWC. In addition, as of December 31, 2020, Charter had state tax net operating loss carryforwards, resulting in a gross deferred tax asset (net of federal tax benefit) of approximately $223 million. State tax net operating loss carryforwards generally expire in the years 2021 through 2040.

Upon closing of the merger with TWC in 2016, Charter experienced a third “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code; resulting in a third set of limitations on Charter’s use of its existing federal and state net operating losses, capital losses, and tax credit carryforwards. Both the first ownership change limitations that applied as a result of Charter’s emergence from bankruptcy in 2009 and second ownership change limitations that applied as a result of Liberty Media Corporation’s purchase in 2013 of a 27% beneficial interest in Charter will also continue to apply. After December 31, 2020, $676 million of Charter's federal tax loss carryforwards are subject to Section 382 and other restrictions. Pursuant to these restrictions, Charter estimates that approximately $226 million annually over each of the next three years of federal tax loss carryforwards should become unrestricted and available for Charter’s use. Since the limitation amounts accumulate for future use to the extent they are not utilized in any given year, Charter believes its loss carryforwards should become fully available to offset future taxable income. Charter’s state loss carryforwards are subject to similar, but varying, limitations on their future

use. If Charter was to experience another “ownership change” in the future, its ability to use its loss carryforwards could be subject to further limitations.

Tax Receivable Agreement

Under the LLC Agreement, A/N has rights to: (1) convert at any time some or all of its preferred units in Charter Holdings for common units in Charter Holdings, and (2) exchange at any time some or all of its common units in Charter Holdings for Charter’s Class A common stock or cash, at Charter’s option. Pursuant to a Tax Receivable Agreement ("TRA") between Charter and A/N, Charter must pay to A/N 50% of the tax benefit when realized by Charter from the step-up in tax basis resulting from any future exchange or sale of the preferred and common units. Charter did not record a liability for this obligation as of the acquisition date since the tax benefit is dependent on uncertain future events that are outside of Charter’s control, such as the timing of a conversion or exchange. A future exchange or sale is not based on a fixed and determinable date and the exchange or sale is not certain to occur. If all of A/N's partnership units were to be exchanged or sold in the future, the undiscounted value of the obligation is currently estimated to be in the range of zero to $3.5 billion depending on measurement of the tax step-up in the future and Charter’s ability to realize the tax benefit in the periods following the exchange or sale. Factors impacting these calculations include, but are not limited to, the fair value of the equity at the time of the exchange and the effective tax rates when the benefits are realized.

Uncertain Tax Positions

The net amount of the unrecognized tax benefits recorded as of December 31, 2020 that could impact the effective tax rate is $302 million. The Company has determined that it is reasonably possible that its existing reserve for uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2020 could decrease by approximately $25 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 related to various ongoing audits, settlement discussions and expiration of statute of limitations with various state and local agencies; however, various events could cause the Company’s current expectations to change in the future. These uncertain tax positions, if ever recognized in the financial statements, would be recorded in the consolidated statements of operations as part of the income tax provision. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, exclusive of interest and penalties, included in other long-term liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of the Company is as follows:


BALANCE, December 31, 2018	$	180
Additions on prior year tax positions	15
Additions on current year tax positions	44
Reductions on settlements and expirations with taxing authorities	(9)
BALANCE, December 31, 2019	$	230
Additions on prior year tax positions	28
Additions on current year tax positions	51
Reductions on settlements and expirations with taxing authorities	(11)
BALANCE, December 31, 2020	$	298

The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued on uncertain income tax positions as part of the income tax provision. Interest and penalties included in other long-term liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of the Company were $63 million and $56 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

No tax years for Charter are currently under examination by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") for income tax purposes. Charter's 2016 through 2020 tax years remain open for examination and assessment. Charter’s short period return dated May 17, 2016 (prior to the merger with TWC and acquisition of Bright House Networks, LLC ("Bright House")) and prior years remain open solely for purposes of examination of Charter’s loss and credit carryforwards. The IRS is currently examining Charter Holdings’ income tax return for 2016. Charter Holdings’ 2017 through 2020 tax years remain open for examination and assessment. The IRS is currently examining TWC’s income tax returns for 2011 through 2014. TWC’s tax year 2015 remains subject to examination and assessment. Prior to TWC’s separation from Time Warner Inc. (“Time Warner”) in March 2009, TWC was included in the consolidated U.S. federal and certain state income tax returns of Time Warner. The

IRS has examined Time Warner’s 2008 through 2010 income tax returns and the results are under appeal. The Company does not anticipate that these examinations will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. In addition, the Company is also subject to ongoing examinations of the Company’s tax returns by state and local tax authorities for various periods. Activity related to these state and local examinations did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations during the year ended December 31, 2020, nor does the Company anticipate a material impact in the future.

Earnings Per Share (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings per Share

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per common share is computed by dividing net income attributable to Charter shareholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per common share considers the impact of potentially dilutive securities using the treasury stock and if-converted methods and is based on the weighted average number of shares used for the basic earnings per share calculation, adjusted for the dilutive effect of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, equity awards with market conditions and Charter Holdings convertible preferred units and common units. Charter Holdings common and convertible preferred units of 26 million, 29 million and 31 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share as their effect would have been antidilutive. The following is the computation of diluted earnings per common share for the years presented.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	3,222	$	1,668	$	1,230

Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic	203,316,483		219,506,735		232,356,665
Effect of dilutive securities:
Assumed exercise or issuance of shares relating to stock plans	5,956,764		4,279,645		3,168,561
Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted	209,273,247		223,786,380		235,525,226

Basic earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders	$	15.85	$	7.60	$	5.29
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders	$	15.40	$	7.45	$	5.22

Comprehensive Income (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Statement of Other Comprehensive Income [Abstract]

Comprehensive Income

The following table sets forth the consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Consolidated net income	$	3,676	$	1,992	$	1,506
Foreign currency translation adjustment	—		2		(1)
Consolidated comprehensive income	3,676		1,994		1,505
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(454)		(324)		(276)
Comprehensive income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	3,222	$	1,670	$	1,229

Related Party Transactions (Notes)	12 Months Ended
Related Party Transactions (Notes)	Dec. 31, 2020
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	Related Party TransactionsThe following sets forth certain transactions in which the Company and the directors, executive officers, and affiliates of the Company are involved or, in the case of the management arrangements, subsidiaries that are debt issuers that pay certain of their parent companies for services. Charter is a party to management arrangements with one of its subsidiaries, Spectrum Management Holding Company, LLC ("Spectrum Management") and certain of their subsidiaries. Under these agreements, Charter, Spectrum Management and Charter Holdco provide management services for the cable systems owned or operated by their subsidiaries. Costs associated with providing these services are charged directly to the Company’s operating subsidiaries. All other costs incurred on behalf of Charter’s operating subsidiaries are considered a part of the management fee. These costs are recorded as a component of operating costs and expenses, in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The management fee charged to the Company’s operating subsidiaries approximated the expenses incurred by Spectrum Management, Charter Holdco and Charter on behalf of the Company’s operating subsidiaries in 2020, 2019 and 2018. Liberty Broadband and A/N Under the terms of the Amended and Restated Stockholders Agreement with Liberty Broadband, A/N and Legacy Charter, dated May 23, 2015, (the “Stockholders Agreement”), the number of Charter’s directors is fixed at 13, and includes its CEO. Two designees selected by A/N are members of the board of directors of Charter and three designees selected by Liberty Broadband are members of the board of directors of Charter. The remaining eight directors are not affiliated with either A/N or Liberty Broadband. Each of A/N and Liberty Broadband is entitled to nominate at least one director to each of the committees of Charter’s board of directors, subject to applicable stock exchange listing rules and certain specified voting or equity ownership thresholds for each of A/N and Liberty Broadband, and provided that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation and Benefit Committee each have at least a majority of directors independent from A/N, Liberty Broadband and Charter (referred to as the “unaffiliated directors”). Each of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation and Benefits Committee is currently comprised of three unaffiliated directors and one designee of each of A/N and Liberty Broadband. A/N and Liberty Broadband also have certain other committee designation and other governance rights. Mr. Thomas Rutledge, the Company’s CEO, is the chairman of the board of Charter. In December 2017, Charter and A/N entered into an amendment to the letter agreement (the “Letter Agreement”) that requires A/N to sell to Charter or to Charter Holdings, on a monthly basis, a number of shares of Charter Class A common stock or Charter Holdings common units that represents a pro rata participation by A/N and its affiliates in any repurchases of shares of Charter Class A common stock from persons other than A/N effected by Charter during the immediately preceding calendar month, at a purchase price equal to the average price paid by Charter for the shares repurchased from persons other than A/N during such immediately preceding calendar month. A/N and Charter both have the right to terminate or suspend the pro rata repurchase arrangement on a prospective basis. Pursuant to the TRA between Charter and A/N, Charter must pay to A/N 50% of the tax benefit when realized by Charter from the step-up in tax basis resulting from any future exchange or sale of the preferred and common units. See Note 17 for more information. Dr. John Malone, a director emeritus of Charter and Chairman of the board of directors and holder of 45.8% of voting interest in Liberty Broadband, also serves on the board of directors of Qurate Retail, Inc. ("Qurate"). As reported in Qurate's SEC filings, Dr. Malone owns approximately 1.2 million shares of the Series A common stock and approximately 27.7 million shares of the Series B common stock of Qurate and has a 40.9% voting interest in Qurate for the election of directors. Qurate wholly owns HSN, Inc. (“HSN”) and QVC, Inc. (“QVC”). The Company has programming relationships with HSN and QVC. For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded revenue in aggregate of approximately $50 million, $50 million and $73 million, respectively, from HSN and QVC as part of channel carriage fees and revenue sharing arrangements for home shopping sales made to customers in the Company’s footprint. Dr. Malone and Mr. Steven Miron, a member of Charter’s board of directors, also serve on the board of directors of Discovery, Inc., (“Discovery”). As reported in Discovery's SEC filings, Dr. Malone owns 1.2% of the series A common stock, 93.6% of the series B common stock and 3.6% of the series C common stock of Discovery and has a 27.9% voting interest in Discovery for the election of directors. As reported in Discovery's SEC filings, Advance/Newhouse Programming Partnership (“A/N PP”), an affiliate of A/N and in which Mr. Miron is the CEO, owns 100% of the Series A-1 preferred stock of Discovery and 100% of the Series C-1 preferred stock of Discovery and has a 23.9% voting interest for matters other than the election of directors. A/N PP also has the right to appoint three directors out of a total of twelve directors to Discovery’s board. The Company purchases programming from Discovery pursuant to agreements entered into prior to Dr. Malone and Mr. Miron joining Charter’s board of directors. Based on publicly available information, the Company does not believe that Discovery would currently be considered a related party. The amount paid to Discovery represents less than 2% of total operating costs and expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018. Equity InvestmentsThe Company has agreements with certain equity investees (see Note 6) pursuant to which the Company has made or received related party transaction payments. The Company recorded payments to equity investees totaling $225 million, $314 million and $361 million during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Commitments and Contingencies (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

The following table summarizes the Company’s payment obligations as of December 31, 2020 for its contractual obligations.


	Total		2021		2022		2023		2024		2025		Thereafter
Programming Minimum Commitments (a)	$	164	$	130	$	22	$	12	$	—	$	—	$	—
Other (b)	15,317		5,162		920		800		566		580		7,289
	$	15,481	$	5,292	$	942	$	812	$	566	$	580	$	7,289

(a)The Company pays programming fees under multi-year contracts ranging from three to ten years, typically based on a flat fee per customer, which may be fixed for the term, or may in some cases escalate over the term. Programming costs included in the statements of operations were $11.4 billion, $11.3 billion and $11.1 billion for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 respectively. Certain of the Company’s programming agreements are based on a flat fee per month or have guaranteed minimum payments. The table sets forth the aggregate guaranteed minimum commitments under the Company’s programming contracts.

(b)“Other” represents other guaranteed minimum commitments, including rights negotiated directly with content owners for distribution on company-owned channels or networks, commitments related to our role as an advertising and distribution sales agent for third party-owned channels or networks, commitments to our customer premise equipment and device vendors and contractual obligations related to third-party network augmentation.

The following items are not included in the contractual obligation table due to various factors discussed below. However, the Company incurs these costs as part of its operations:

•The Company rents utility poles used in its operations. Generally, pole rentals are cancelable on short notice, but the Company anticipates that such rentals will recur. Rent expense incurred for pole rental attachments for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 was $192 million, $180 million and $171 million, respectively.

•The Company pays franchise fees under multi-year franchise agreements based on a percentage of revenues generated from video service per year. The Company also pays other franchise related costs, such as public education grants, under multi-year agreements. Franchise fees and other franchise-related costs included in the accompanying statement of operations were $741 million, $750 million and $747 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 respectively.

•The Company has $367 million in letters of credit, of which $41 million is secured under the Charter Operating credit facility, primarily to its various casualty carriers as collateral for reimbursement of workers' compensation, auto liability and general liability claims.

•Minimum pension funding requirements have not been presented in the table above as such amounts have not been determined beyond 2020. The Company made no cash contributions to the qualified pension plans in 2020; however, the Company is permitted to make discretionary cash contributions to the qualified pension plans in 2021. For the nonqualified pension plan, the Company contributed $3 million during 2020 and will continue to make contributions in 2021 to the extent benefits are paid.

•In December 2020, the Company won a bidding process for $1.2 billion in phase I of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”) auction to further extend its broadband services in states where it currently operate. The Company expects to fund its multi-billion dollar fiber-based build-out over a six to eight-year period.

Legal Proceedings

In August 2015, a purported stockholder of Charter, Matthew Sciabacucchi, filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, on behalf of a putative class of Charter stockholders, challenging the transactions involving Charter, TWC, A/N, and Liberty Broadband announced by Charter on May 26, 2015. The lawsuit, which named as defendants Charter and its board of directors, alleged that the transactions resulted from breaches of fiduciary duty by Charter’s directors and that Liberty Broadband improperly benefited from the challenged transactions at the expense of other Charter stockholders. The lawsuit has proceeded to the discovery phase. Charter denies any liability, believes that it has substantial defenses, and is vigorously defending this lawsuit. Although Charter is unable to predict the outcome of this lawsuit, it does not expect the outcome will have a material effect on its operations, financial condition or cash flows.

The California Attorney General and the Alameda County, California District Attorney are investigating whether certain of Charter’s waste disposal policies, procedures and practices are in violation of the California Business and Professions Code and the California Health and Safety Code. That investigation was commenced in January 2014. A similar investigation involving TWC was initiated in February 2012. Charter is cooperating with these investigations. While the Company is unable to predict the outcome of these investigations, it does not expect that the outcome will have a material effect on its operations, financial condition, or cash flows.

On December 19, 2011, Sprint Communications Company L.P. (“Sprint”) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas alleging that TWC infringed certain U.S. patents purportedly relating to Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services. At the trial, the jury returned a verdict of $140 million against TWC and further concluded that TWC had willfully infringed Sprint’s patents. The court subsequently declined to enhance the damage award as a result of the purported willful infringement and awarded Sprint an additional $10 million, representing pre- and post-judgment interest on the damages award and an additional $1 million in costs. In November 2019, the Company paid the verdict, interest and costs in full. The Company continues to pursue indemnity claims from two of its vendors for a portion of the judgment. The Company has also brought a patent suit against Sprint (TC Tech, LLC v. Sprint) in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware implicating Sprint's LTE technology and a similar suit against T-Mobile USA, Inc. in the Western District of Texas. The ultimate outcomes of the pursuit of indemnity against the Company’s vendor and the TC Tech litigation cannot be predicted. The Company does not expect the outcome of its indemnity claims nor the outcome of the TC Tech litigation will have a material adverse effect on its operations or financial condition.

Sprint filed a second patent suit against Charter and Bright House on December 2, 2017 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. This suit alleges infringement of 9 patents related to the Company's provision of VoIP services (eight of which were asserted against Legacy TWC in the matter described above).

Sprint filed a third patent suit against Charter on May 17, 2018 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. This suit alleges infringement of two patents related to the Company's video on demand services. The court transferred this case to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on December 20, 2018 pursuant to an agreement between the parties.

On February 18, 2020, Sprint filed a lawsuit against Charter, Bright House and TWC. Sprint alleges that Charter misappropriated trade secrets from Sprint years ago through employees hired by Bright House. Sprint asserts that the alleged trade secrets relate to the VoIP business of Charter, TWC and Bright House. The case is now pending in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

While the Company is vigorously defending these suits and is unable to predict the outcome of the Sprint lawsuits, the Company does not expect that the litigation will have a material effect on its operations, financial condition, or cash flows.

In addition to the Sprint litigation described above, the Company is a defendant or co-defendant in several additional lawsuits involving alleged infringement of various intellectual property relating to various aspects of its businesses. Other industry participants are also defendants in certain of these cases or related cases. In the event that a court ultimately determines that the Company infringes on any intellectual property, the Company may be subject to substantial damages and/or an injunction that could require the Company or its vendors to modify certain products and services the Company offers to its subscribers, as well as negotiate royalty or license agreements with respect to the intellectual property at issue. While the Company believes the

lawsuits are without merit and intends to defend the actions vigorously, no assurance can be given that any adverse outcome would not be material to the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity. The Company cannot predict the outcome of any such claims nor can it reasonably estimate a range of possible loss.

The Company is party to other lawsuits, claims and regulatory inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of conducting its business. The ultimate outcome of these other legal matters pending against the Company cannot be predicted, and although such lawsuits and claims are not expected individually to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity, such lawsuits could have, in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Whether or not the Company ultimately prevails in any particular lawsuit or claim, litigation can be time consuming and costly and injure the Company’s reputation.

Employee Benefit Plans (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

Pension Plans

The Company sponsors qualified and nonqualified defined benefit pension plans that provide pension benefits to a majority of employees who were employed by TWC before the merger with TWC.

Changes in the projected benefit obligation, fair value of plan assets and funded status of the pension plans from January 1 through December 31 are presented below:


	2020		2019
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	3,361	$	3,041
Interest cost	110		129
Actuarial loss	436		499
Settlement	(166)		(257)
Benefits paid	(53)		(51)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year (a)	$	3,688	$	3,361

Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year (a)	$	3,688	$	3,361

Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	3,198	$	2,943
Actual return on plan assets	480		559
Employer contributions	3		4
Settlement	(166)		(257)
Benefits paid	(53)		(51)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year (b)	$	3,462	$	3,198

Funded status	$	(226)	$	(163)

(a)As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, qualified pension plans represented $3.7 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively, of both the projected benefit obligation and accumulated benefit obligation while the Company’s nonqualified pension plan represented $36 million and $35 million, respectively.

(b)The fair value of plan assets consists entirely of the Company’s qualified pension plans.

Pretax amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 consisted of the following:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Noncurrent asset	$	1	$	1
Current liability	(5)		(4)
Long-term liability	(222)		(160)
Net amounts recognized in consolidated balance sheet	$	(226)	$	(163)

The components of net periodic benefit (cost) for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 consisted of the following:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Interest cost	$	(110)	$	(129)	$	(128)
Expected return on plan assets	156		164		198
Remeasurement gain (loss)	(112)		(104)		122
Net periodic pension benefit (cost)	$	(66)	$	(69)	$	192

The remeasurement gains (losses) recorded during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 were primarily driven by changes in the discount rate as well as gains or losses to record pension assets to fair value.

The discount rates used to determine benefit obligations as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 were 2.70% and 3.48%, respectively. The Company utilized the Pri-2012/MP 2020 and RP 2015/MP 2015 mortality tables published by the Society of Actuaries to measure the benefit obligations as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs consisted of the following:


	Year ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	5.00	%	5.75	%	5.75	%
Discount rate	3.48	%	4.37	%	4.24	%

In developing the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, the Company considered the pension portfolio’s composition, past average rate of earnings and the Company’s future asset allocation targets. The weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets and discount rate used to determine net periodic pension benefit for the year ended 2021 are expected to be 5.00% and 2.70%, respectively. The Company determined the discount rates used to determine benefit obligations and net periodic pension benefit based on the yield of a large population of high quality corporate bonds with cash flows sufficient in timing and amount to settle projected future defined benefit payments.

Pension Plan Assets

The assets of the qualified pension plans are held in a master trust in which the qualified pension plans are the only participating plans (the “Master Trust”). The investment policy for the qualified pension plans is to manage the assets of the Master Trust with the objective to provide for pension liabilities to be met, maintaining retirement income security for the participants of the plans and their beneficiaries. The investment portfolio is a mix of pooled funds invested in fixed income securities, equity securities and certain alternative investments with the objective of matching plan liability performance, diversifying risk and achieving a target investment return. Pension assets are managed in a balanced portfolio comprised of two major components: a return-seeking portion and a liability-matching portion.

The Company uses an investment strategy designed to increase the fixed income allocation as the funded status of the qualified pension plans improves. As the qualified pension plans reach set funded status milestones, the assets will be rebalanced to shift more assets from equity to fixed income. Based on the progress with this strategy, the target investment allocation for pension fund assets is permitted to vary within specified ranges subject to Investment Committee approval for return-seeking securities and liability-matching securities. The target and actual investment allocation of the qualified pension plans by asset category consisted of the following:


	December 31, 2020				December 31, 2019
	Target Allocation		Actual Allocation		Target Allocation		Actual Allocation

Return-seeking securities	60.0	%	57.1	%	60.0	%	56.2	%
Liability-matching securities	40.0	%	42.8	%	40.0	%	43.7	%
Other investments	—	%	0.1	%	—	%	0.1	%

The following tables set forth the investment assets of the qualified pension plans by level within the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31, 2020						December 31, 2019
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2
Cash	$	4	$	4	$	—	$	4	$	4	$	—
Commingled bond funds(a)	1,449		—		1,449		1,335		—		1,335
Commingled equity funds(a)	1,255		—		1,255		1,135		—		1,135
Collective trust funds(b)	178		—		178		139		—		139
Total investment assets	2,886		$	4	$	2,882	2,613		$	4	$	2,609
Accrued investment income and other receivables	19						1
Investments measured at net asset value(c)	557						584
Fair value of plan assets	$	3,462					$	3,198

(a)Commingled funds include bond funds with corporate and U.S. treasury debt securities and equity funds with global equity index, infrastructure and real estate securities that have a readily determinable fair value and are valued using the net assets provided by the administrator of the fund. The value of each fund is based on the fair value of underlying securities in the portfolio, which represents the amount that the fund might reasonably expect to receive for the securities upon a sale, less liabilities, and then divided by the number of units outstanding. Equity securities within the funds are valued using observable inputs on either a daily or weekly basis and the resulting per share value serves as a basis for current redemption value. Debt securities within the funds are valued based on observable prices from the new issue market, benchmark quotes, secondary trading and dealer quotes.

(b)Collective trust funds consist of short-term investment strategies comprised of instruments issued or fully guaranteed by the U.S. government and/or its agencies and multi-strategy funds, which are valued using the net assets provided by the administrator of the fund. The value of each fund is based on the readily determinable fair value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, less liabilities, and then divided by the number of units outstanding.

(c)As a practical expedient, certain investment classes which hold securities that are not readily available for redemption and are measured at fair value using the net asset value ("NAV") per share (or its equivalent) have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy.

Investments Measured at Net Asset Value per Share Practical Expedient

The following table summarizes the investment classes for which fair value is measured using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) practical expedient as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. These investment classes are not readily available for redemption. The NAV of each fund is based on the fair value of underlying assets in the portfolio. Certain investments report

NAV per share on a month or quarter lag. There are no material unfunded commitments with respect to these investment classes.


	Fair Value
	December 31,				Redemption Frequency (if currently eligible)	Redemption Notice Period
	2020		2019
Alternative funds(a)	$	283	$	271	weekly, monthly, quarterly	1-180 days
Fixed income funds(b)	148		177		daily, monthly	10-40 days
Real estate funds(c)	126		136		quarterly	45-90 days
Investments measured at NAV	$	557	$	584

(a)The alternative fund investment class includes funds with various securities selected to provide complimentary sources of return with our equity and bond portfolios that better manage risk. The Company’s alternative fund investments include holdings such as public equities, exchange traded derivatives, and corporate bonds, among others. A portion of the alternative funds cannot be redeemed until the one year anniversary of the purchase date.

(b)Fixed income funds invest in residential and commercial mortgages, as well as global sovereign securities.

(c)Real estate funds are not publicly traded and invest primarily in unlisted direct core real estate, including super-regional malls, shopping centers, and commercial real estate (e.g. education, healthcare and storage).

Pension Plan Contributions

The Company made no cash contributions to the qualified pension plans during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018; however, the Company may make discretionary cash contributions to the qualified pension plans in the future. Such contributions will be dependent on a variety of factors, including current and expected interest rates, asset performance, the funded status of the qualified pension plans and management’s judgment. For the nonqualified unfunded pension plan, the Company will continue to make contributions during 2021 to the extent benefits are paid.

Benefit payments for the pension plans are expected to be $268 million in 2021, $249 million in 2022, $236 million in 2023, $223 million in 2024, $211 million in 2025 and $929 million in 2026 to 2030.

Multiemployer Plans

The Company contributes to multiemployer plans under the terms of collective-bargaining agreements that cover its union-represented employees. Such multiemployer plans provide medical, pension and retirement savings benefits to active employees and retirees. The Company made contributions to multiemployer plans of $7 million, $9 million and $9 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, other long-term liabilities includes approximately $98 million and $101 million, respectively, related to the Company's withdrawal from a multiemployer pension plan.

Defined Contribution Benefit Plans

The Company’s employees may participate in the Charter Communications, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”). Employees that qualify for participation can contribute up to 50% of their salary, on a pre-tax basis, subject to a maximum contribution limit as determined by the IRS. The Company’s matching contribution is discretionary and is equal to 100% of the amount of the salary reduction the participant elects to defer (up to 6% of the participant’s eligible compensation), excluding any catch-up contributions and is paid by the Company on a per pay period basis. The Company made contributions to the 401(k) plan totaling $331 million, $303 million and $290 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

For employees who are not eligible to participate in the Company’s long-term incentive plan and who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the Company offers a contribution to the Retirement Accumulation Plan ("RAP"), equal to 3% of eligible pay. The Company made contributions to the RAP totaling $162 million, $152 million and $151 million for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards (Notes)	12 Months Ended
Recently Issued Accounting Standards (Notes)	Dec. 31, 2020
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
Recently Issued Accounting Standards	Recently Issued Accounting Standards Accounting Standards Adopted in Prior Periods ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”) Upon adoption of ASU 2014-09, the Company recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment which included an increase to total shareholders’ equity of $38 million as of January 1, 2018. ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory ("ASU 2016-16") The Company identified a $31 million increase to total shareholders' equity and corresponding increase to deferred tax assets related to the adoption of ASU 2016-16, which was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2018. ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (“ASU 2016-02”) In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 which requires lessees to recognize almost all leases on their balance sheet as a lease asset and a lease liability. The Company adopted ASU 2016-02 using the modified retrospective approach with a cumulative-effect adjustment recorded at the beginning of the period of adoption (January 1, 2019). The adoption of the standard did not have an impact on the Company’s shareholders' equity, results from operations and cash flows. Accounting Standards Adopted in 2020 ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”) In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2019-12 which is intended to simplify various aspects related to accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. ASU 2019-12 will be effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is permitted. The Company elected to early adopt ASU 2019-12 on January 1, 2020. The adoption of ASU 2019-12 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements. Amendments to the financial disclosures requirements for guarantors and issuers of guaranteed securities under SEC Regulation S-X In March 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to the financial disclosure requirements of Regulation S-X for guarantors and issuers of guaranteed securities. The final rule streamlines disclosure obligations under the existing rules, including replacing condensed consolidating financial information with summarized financial information for the "obligor group" of issuers and guarantors to the extent material, no longer requiring subsidiary issuer and guarantor cash flow information, and no longer requiring financial information for non-guarantor subsidiaries. It also permits presentation of the required disclosures to be included in the Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") section of quarterly and annual reports rather than the notes to the Company's consolidated financial statements. The Company voluntarily complied with the new disclosure requirements beginning with its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 and concluded that amended Rule 3-10 and new Rule 13-01 of Regulation S-X did not apply to Charter because Charter does not guarantee the debt securities of CCO Holdings or any of its subsidiaries. Accounting Standards Adopted in 2021 ASU No. 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity's Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”) In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, which reduces the number of accounting models for convertible instruments, amends diluted earnings per share calculations for convertible instruments and allows more contracts to qualify for equity classification. ASU 2020-06 will be effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2021. Early adoption is permitted. The Company elected to early adopt ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data

The following table presents quarterly data for the periods presented in the consolidated statement of operations:


	Year Ended December 31, 2020
	First Quarter		Second Quarter		Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter
Revenues	$	11,738	$	11,696	$	12,039	$	12,624
Income from operations	$	1,802	$	1,969	$	2,172	$	2,462
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	396	$	766	$	814	$	1,246

Earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders:
Basic	$	1.91	$	3.72	$	4.01	$	6.33
Diluted	$	1.86	$	3.63	$	3.90	$	6.05

Weighted average common share outstanding:
Basic	207,831,305		205,777,438		202,826,502		196,906,511
Diluted	212,810,613		210,906,946		208,722,129		212,077,917


	Year Ended December 31, 2019
	First Quarter		Second Quarter		Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter
Revenues	$	11,206	$	11,347	$	11,450	$	11,761
Income from operations	$	1,425	$	1,541	$	1,586	$	1,959
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	253	$	314	$	387	$	714

Earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders:
Basic	$	1.13	$	1.41	$	1.77	$	3.36
Diluted	$	1.11	$	1.39	$	1.74	$	3.28

Weighted average common share outstanding:
Basic	224,630,122		222,392,274		218,499,213		212,648,072
Diluted	227,595,365		225,942,172		222,355,867		217,778,099

Parent Company Only Financial Statements (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Parent Company Only Financial Statements [Abstract]

Consolidating Schedules

Parent Company Only Financial Statements

As the result of limitations on, and prohibitions of, distributions, substantially all of the net assets of the consolidated subsidiaries are restricted from distribution to Charter, the parent company. The following condensed parent-only financial statements of Charter account for the investment in Charter Holdco under the equity method of accounting. The financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Company and notes thereto.


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Balance Sheets

	December 31,
	2020		2019
ASSETS
Accounts receivable, net	$	1	$	1
Receivables from related party	28		34
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	20		10
Investment in subsidiaries	41,813		49,024
Loans receivable - related party	275		260
Other noncurrent assets	1		2
Total assets	$	42,138	$	49,331

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY
Current liabilities	$	22	$	18
Deferred income taxes	18,030		17,641
Other long-term liabilities	281		227
Shareholder's equity	23,805		31,445
Total liabilities and shareholder's equity	$	42,138	$	49,331


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Statements of Operations

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
INCOME
Revenues	$	64	$	52	$	46
Interest income	12		10		9
Equity in income of subsidiaries	3,771		1,998		1,377
Total income	3,847		2,060		1,432

EXPENSES
Operating costs and expenses	64		52		46

Income before income taxes	3,783		2,008		1,386
Income tax expense	(561)		(340)		(156)
Net income	$	3,222	$	1,668	$	1,230


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Net income	$	3,222	$	1,668	$	1,230
Foreign currency translation adjustment	—		2		(1)
Comprehensive income	$	3,222	$	1,670	$	1,229


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
NET CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	$	(49)	$	(36)	$	(10)

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Contribution to subsidiaries	(208)		(119)		(69)
Distributions from subsidiaries	11,268		6,910		4,421
Net cash flows from investing activities	11,060		6,791		4,352

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	184		118		69
Issuance of equity	23		—		—
Purchase of treasury stock	(11,217)		(6,873)		(4,399)
Repayments of loans payable - related parties	(1)		—		(12)
Net cash flows from financing activities	(11,011)		(6,755)		(4,342)

NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	—		—		—
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	—		—		—
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	$	—	$	—	$	—

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Consolidation Policy

Consolidation

Cash and Cash Equivalents Policy

Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. These investments are carried at cost, which approximates market value.

Restricted Cash Policy

Restricted CashRestricted cash represents amounts held in escrow related to the Company's build-to-suit lease arrangement with a VIE. See Note 6. The amounts held in escrow are classified as noncurrent restricted cash in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company's restricted cash was primarily invested in a federal funds deposit account.

Property, Plant and Equipment Policy

Property, Plant and Equipment

Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line composite method over management’s estimate of the useful lives of the related assets as follows:


Cable distribution systems						6-22 years
Customer premise equipment and installations						3-8 years
Vehicles and equipment						6-21 years
Buildings and improvements						8-40 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment						2-10 years

Asset Retirement Obligations Policy

Asset Retirement Obligations

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets Policy

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets

Leases Policy

Leases

Other Noncurrent Assets Policy

Other Noncurrent Assets Other noncurrent assets primarily include investments, wireless spectrum licenses, trademarks, customer contract costs and other intangible assets. The Company accounts for its investments in less than majority owned investees under either the equity method or as equity securities. The Company applies the equity method to investments when it has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee. The Company’s share of the investee’s earnings (losses) is included in other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company monitors its investments for indicators that a decrease in investment value has occurred that is other than temporary. If it has been determined that an investment has sustained an other than temporary decline in value, the investment is written down to fair value with a charge to earnings. Investments acquired are measured at fair value utilizing the acquisition method of accounting. The difference between the fair value and the amount of underlying equity in net assets for most equity method investments is due to previously unrecognized intangible assets at the investee. These amounts are amortized as a component of equity earnings (losses), recorded within other expense, net over the estimated useful life of the asset. Wireless spectrum licenses and trademarks have been determined to have an indefinite life and are tested annually for impairment. Customer contract costs are deferred in other noncurrent assets for upfront costs incurred to obtain a customer contract and upfront costs to fulfill a customer contract, as further discussed below under the Customer Contract Costs accounting policy.

Revenue Recognition Policy

Revenue Recognition

Nature of Services

Residential Services

Small and Medium Business

Enterprise

Advertising Services

Mobile

The Company’s revenues by product line are as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Internet	$	18,521	$	16,667	$	15,181
Video	17,432		17,607		17,348
Voice	1,806		1,920		2,114
Residential revenue	37,759		36,194		34,643

Small and medium business	3,964		3,868		3,665
Enterprise	2,468		2,556		2,528
Commercial revenue	6,432		6,424		6,193

Advertising sales	1,699		1,568		1,785
Mobile	1,364		726		106
Other	843		852		907
	$	48,097	$	45,764	$	43,634

Significant Judgments in Evaluating Revenue Recognition

Deferred Revenue Contract Liabilities

Customer Contract Costs Policy

Customer Contract Costs

Programming Costs Policy

Programming Costs

Advertising Costs Policy

Advertising Costs Advertising costs associated with marketing the Company’s products and services are generally expensed as costs are incurred.

Multiple-Element Transactions Policy

Multiple-Element Transactions In the normal course of business, the Company enters into multiple-element transactions where it is simultaneously both a customer and a vendor with the same counterparty or in which it purchases multiple products and/or services, or settles outstanding items contemporaneous with the purchase of a product or service from a single counterparty. Transactions, although negotiated contemporaneously, may be documented in one or more contracts. The Company’s policy for accounting for each transaction negotiated contemporaneously is to record each element of the transaction based on the respective estimated fair values of the products or services purchased and the products or services sold. In determining the fair value of the respective elements, the Company refers to quoted market prices (where available), historical transactions or comparable cash transactions. Cash consideration received from a vendor is recorded as a reduction in the price of the vendor’s product unless (i) the consideration is for the reimbursement of a specific, incremental, identifiable cost incurred, in which case the cash consideration received would be recorded as a reduction in such cost (e.g., marketing costs), or (ii) an identifiable benefit in exchange for the consideration is provided, in which case revenue would be recognized for this element.

Stock-Based Compensation Policy

Stock-Based Compensation

Defined Benefit Pension Plans Policy

Defined Benefit Pension Plans

Income Taxes Policy

Income Taxes

Segments Policy

Segments The Company’s operations are managed and reported to its Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), the Company’s chief operating decision maker, on a consolidated basis. The CEO assesses performance and allocates resources based on the consolidated results of operations. Under this organizational and reporting structure, the Company has one reportable segment.

Franchises, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Policy	Franchise rights represent the value attributed to agreements or authorizations with local and state authorities that allow access to homes in cable service areas. For valuation purposes, they are defined as the future economic benefits of the right to solicit and service potential customers (customer marketing rights), and the right to deploy and market new services to potential customers (service marketing rights). Management estimates the fair value of franchise rights at the date of acquisition and determines if the franchise has a finite life or an indefinite life. The Company has concluded that all of its franchises qualify for indefinite life treatment given that there are no legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic or other factors which limit the period over which these rights will contribute to the Company's cash flows. The Company reassesses this determination periodically or whenever events or substantive changes in circumstances occur. All franchises are tested for impairment annually or more frequently as warranted by events or changes in circumstances. Franchise assets are aggregated into essentially inseparable units of accounting to conduct valuations. The units of accounting generally represent geographical clustering of the Company's cable systems into groups. The Company assesses qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that an indefinite lived intangible asset has been impaired. If, after this optional qualitative assessment, the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that an indefinite lived intangible asset has been impaired, then no further quantitative testing is necessary. In completing the qualitative impairment testing, the Company evaluates a multitude of factors that affect the fair value of our franchise assets. Examples of such factors include environmental and competitive changes within our operating footprint, actual and projected operating performance, the consistency of our operating margins, equity and debt market trends, including changes in our market capitalization, and changes in our regulatory and political landscape, among other factors. The Company performed a qualitative assessment in 2020. After consideration of the qualitative factors in 2020, the Company concluded that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the franchise assets in each unit of accounting exceeds the carrying value of such assets and therefore did not perform a quantitative analysis at the assessment date. Periodically, the Company will elect to perform a quantitative analysis for impairment testing. If the Company elects or is required to perform a quantitative analysis to test its franchise assets for impairment, the methodology described below is utilized. If a quantitative analysis is performed, the estimated fair value of franchises is determined utilizing an income approach model based on the present value of the estimated discrete future cash flows attributable to each of the intangible assets identified assuming a discount rate. The fair value of franchises is determined based on estimated discrete discounted future cash flows using assumptions consistent with internal forecasts. The franchise after-tax cash flow is calculated as the after-tax cash flow generated by the potential customers obtained. The sum of the present value of the franchises’ after-tax cash flow in years 1 through 10 and the continuing value of the after-tax cash flow beyond year 10 yields the fair value of the franchises. This approach makes use of unobservable factors such as projected revenues, expenses, capital expenditures, customer trends, and a discount rate applied to the estimated cash flows. The determination of the franchise discount rate is derived from the Company’s weighted average cost of capital, which uses a market participant’s cost of equity and after-tax cost of debt and reflects the risks inherent in the cash flows. The Company estimates discounted future cash flows using reasonable and appropriate assumptions including among others, penetration rates; revenue growth rates; operating margins; and capital expenditures. The assumptions are based on the Company’s and its peers’ historical operating performance adjusted for current and expected competitive and economic factors surrounding the cable industry. The estimates and assumptions made in the Company’s valuations are inherently subject to significant uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control, and there is no assurance that these results can be achieved. The primary assumptions for which there is a reasonable possibility of the occurrence of a variation that would significantly affect the measurement value include the assumptions regarding revenue growth, programming expense growth rates, the amount and timing of capital expenditures, actual customer trends and the discount rate utilized. The Company has determined that it has one reporting unit for purposes of the assessment of goodwill impairment. The fair value of the reporting unit is determined using both an income approach and market approach. The Company’s income approach model used for its reporting unit valuation is consistent with that used for its franchise valuation noted above except that cash flows from the entire business enterprise are used for the reporting unit valuation. The Company’s market approach model estimates the fair value of the reporting unit based on market prices in actual precedent transactions of similar businesses and market valuations of guideline public companies. Goodwill is tested for impairment as of November 30 of each year, or more frequently as warranted by events or changes in circumstances. Accounting guidance also permits an optional qualitative assessment for goodwill to determine whether it is more likely than not that the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value. If, after this qualitative assessment, the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount then no further quantitative testing would be necessary. A quantitative assessment is performed if the qualitative assessment results in a more likely than not determination or if a qualitative assessment is not performed. The quantitative assessment considers whether the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, in which case an impairment charge is recorded to the extent the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value. As with the Company’s franchise impairment testing, in 2020 the Company elected to perform a qualitative goodwill impairment assessment, which incorporated consideration of the same qualitative factors relevant to the Company's franchise impairment testing. As a result of that assessment, the Company concluded that goodwill is not impaired. Customer relationships are recorded at fair value as of the date acquired less accumulated amortization. Customer relationships, for valuation purposes, represent the value of the business relationship with existing customers, and are calculated by projecting the discrete future after-tax cash flows from these customers, including the right to deploy and market additional services to these customers. The present value of these after-tax cash flows yields the fair value of the customer relationships. The use of different valuation assumptions or definitions of franchises or customer relationships, such as our inclusion of the value of selling additional services to our current customers within customer relationships versus franchises, could significantly impact our valuations and any resulting impairment. Customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated sum of years’ digits method over useful lives of 8-15 years based on the period over which current customers are expected to generate cash flows. The Company periodically evaluates the remaining useful lives of its customer relationships to determine whether events or circumstances warrant revision to the remaining periods of amortization. Customer relationships are evaluated for impairment upon the occurrence of events or changes in circumstances indicating that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Customer relationships are deemed impaired when the carrying value exceeds the projected undiscounted future cash flows associated with the customer relationships. No impairment of customer relationships was recorded in the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 or 2018. The fair value of trademarks is determined using the relief-from-royalty method, a variation of the income approach, which applies a fair royalty rate to estimated revenue derived under the Company’s trademarks. The fair value of the intangible is estimated to be the present value of the royalty saved because the Company owns the trademarks. Royalty rates are estimated based on a review of market royalty rates in the communications and entertainment industries. As the Company expects to continue to use each trademark indefinitely, trademarks have been assigned an indefinite life and are tested annually for impairment using either a qualitative analysis or quantitative analysis as elected by management. As with the Company’s franchise impairment testing, in 2020 the Company elected to perform a qualitative trademark impairment assessment and concluded that trademarks are not impaired.

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020
Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Abstract]
Derivative Instruments Policy	The Company uses derivative instruments to manage foreign exchange risk on the Sterling Notes, and does not hold or issue derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of Property, Plant and Equipment Useful Lives

Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line composite method over management’s estimate of the useful lives of the related assets as follows:


Cable distribution systems						6-22 years
Customer premise equipment and installations						3-8 years
Vehicles and equipment						6-21 years
Buildings and improvements						8-40 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment						2-10 years

Schedule of Revenues by Product Line

The Company’s revenues by product line are as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Internet	$	18,521	$	16,667	$	15,181
Video	17,432		17,607		17,348
Voice	1,806		1,920		2,114
Residential revenue	37,759		36,194		34,643

Small and medium business	3,964		3,868		3,665
Enterprise	2,468		2,556		2,528
Commercial revenue	6,432		6,424		6,193

Advertising sales	1,699		1,568		1,785
Mobile	1,364		726		106
Other	843		852		907
	$	48,097	$	45,764	$	43,634

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Abstract]

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts is summarized as follows for the years presented:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Balance, beginning of period	$	151	$	129	$	113
Charged to expense	560		659		570
Uncollected balances written off, net of recoveries	(517)		(637)		(554)
Balance, end of period	$	194	$	151	$	129

Property, Plant and Equipment (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Schedule of Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consists of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Cable distribution systems	$	33,693	$	31,542
Customer premise equipment and installations	17,756		17,492
Vehicles and equipment	1,932		1,879
Buildings and improvements	5,396		4,843
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	7,219		6,491
	65,996		62,247
Less: accumulated depreciation	(31,639)		(27,656)
	$	34,357	$	34,591

Franchises, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Intangible Assets

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, indefinite-lived and finite-lived intangible assets are presented in the following table:


	December 31,
	2020						2019
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Franchises	$	67,322	$	—	$	67,322	$	67,322	$	—	$	67,322
Goodwill	29,554		—		29,554		29,554		—		29,554
Wireless spectrum licenses	464		—		464		—		—		—
Trademarks	159		—		159		159		—		159
	$	97,499	$	—	$	97,499	$	97,035	$	—	$	97,035

Finite-lived intangible assets:
Customer relationships	$	18,230	$	(12,615)	$	5,615	$	18,230	$	(10,777)	$	7,453
Other intangible assets	420		(159)		261		405		(122)		283
	$	18,650	$	(12,774)	$	5,876	$	18,635	$	(10,899)	$	7,736

Schedule of Expected Future Amortization Expense

The Company expects amortization expense on its finite-lived intangible assets will be as follows.


2021	$	1,602
2022	1,332
2023	1,075
2024	824
2025	575
Thereafter	468
	$	5,876

Investments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Investments [Abstract]

Schedule of investments

Investments consisted of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Equity-method investments	$	294	$	309
Other investments	19		21
Total investments	$	313	$	330

Schedule of Variable Interest Entities


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Assets
Restricted cash	$	3	$	66
Property, plant and equipment	$	490	$	295
Liabilities
Current liabilities	$	28	$	11
Other long-term liabilities	$	470	$	350

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

+ References + Details

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]

Schedule of Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities consist of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Accounts payable – trade	$	763	$	786
Deferred revenue	436		460
Accrued liabilities:
Programming costs	1,940		2,042
Labor	1,374		1,028
Capital expenditures	1,227		1,441
Interest	1,083		1,052
Taxes and regulatory fees	555		537
Property and casualty	462		458
Operating lease liabilities	235		214
Other	792		867
	$	8,867	$	8,885

Leases (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Leases [Abstract]

Schedule of supplemental balance sheet information

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases is as follows.


	December 31,
	2020			2019
Operating lease right-of-use assets:
Included within other noncurrent assets	$	1,214		$	1,092

Operating lease liabilities:
Current portion included within accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	235		$	214
Long-term portion included within other long-term liabilities	1,110			979
	$	1,345		$	1,193

Weighted average remaining lease term for operating leases	6.4 years			6.6 years
Weighted average discount rate for operating leases	3.9		%	4.4		%

Schedule of future minimum lease payments for operating leases

Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 2020 are as follows.


2021	$	304
2022	275
2023	250
2024	211
2025	164
Thereafter	368
Undiscounted lease cash flow commitments	1,572
Reconciling impact from discounting	(227)
Lease liabilities on consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020	$	1,345

Long-Term Debt (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Long-Term Debt

Long-term debt consists of the following as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31,
	2020				2019
	Principal Amount		Accreted Value		Principal Amount		Accreted Value
CCO Holdings, LLC:
5.250% senior notes due September 30, 2022	$	—	$	—	$	1,250	$	1,241
5.125% senior notes due February 15, 2023	—		—		1,000		995
4.000% senior notes due March 1, 2023	500		498		500		497
5.125% senior notes due May 1, 2023	—		—		1,150		1,145
5.750% senior notes due September 1, 2023	—		—		500		497
5.750% senior notes due January 15, 2024	—		—		150		149
5.875% senior notes due April 1, 2024	—		—		1,700		1,690
5.375% senior notes due May 1, 2025	—		—		750		746
5.750% senior notes due February 15, 2026	2,500		2,475		2,500		2,471
5.500% senior notes due May 1, 2026	1,500		1,492		1,500		1,491
5.875% senior notes due May 1, 2027	800		796		800		796
5.125% senior notes due May 1, 2027	3,250		3,225		3,250		3,222
5.000% senior notes due February 1, 2028	2,500		2,472		2,500		2,469
5.375% senior notes due June 1, 2029	1,500		1,501		1,500		1,501
4.750% senior notes due March 1, 2030	3,050		3,042		3,050		3,041
4.500% senior notes due August 15, 2030	2,750		2,750		—		—
4.250% senior notes due February 1, 2031	3,000		3,001		—		—
4.500% senior notes due May 1, 2032	2,900		2,928		—		—
Charter Communications Operating, LLC:
3.579% senior notes due July 23, 2020	—		—		2,000		1,997
4.464% senior notes due July 23, 2022	3,000		2,992		3,000		2,987
Senior floating rate notes due February 1, 2024	900		902		900		902
4.500% senior notes due February 1, 2024	1,100		1,094		1,100		1,093
4.908% senior notes due July 23, 2025	4,500		4,475		4,500		4,471
3.750% senior notes due February 15, 2028	1,000		989		1,000		987
4.200% senior notes due March 15, 2028	1,250		1,241		1,250		1,240
5.050% senior notes due March 30, 2029	1,250		1,242		1,250		1,241
2.800% senior notes due April 1, 2031	1,600		1,583		—		—
2.300% senior notes due February 1, 2032	1,000		991		—		—
6.384% senior notes due October 23, 2035	2,000		1,983		2,000		1,982
5.375% senior notes due April 1, 2038	800		786		800		786
6.484% senior notes due October 23, 2045	3,500		3,468		3,500		3,467
5.375% senior notes due May 1, 2047	2,500		2,506		2,500		2,506
5.750% senior notes due April 1, 2048	2,450		2,392		2,450		2,391
5.125% senior notes due July 1, 2049	1,250		1,240		1,250		1,240
4.800% senior notes due March 1, 2050	2,800		2,797		2,800		2,798
3.700% senior notes due April 1, 2051	2,050		2,030		—		—
6.834% senior notes due October 23, 2055	500		495		500		495


3.850% senior notes due April 1, 2061	1,350		1,339		—		—
Credit facilities	10,150		10,081		10,427		10,345
Time Warner Cable, LLC:
5.000% senior notes due February 1, 2020	—		—		1,500		1,503
4.125% senior notes due February 15, 2021	—		—		700		711
4.000% senior notes due September 1, 2021	1,000		1,008		1,000		1,021
5.750% sterling senior notes due June 2, 2031 (a)	854		911		828		886
6.550% senior debentures due May 1, 2037	1,500		1,668		1,500		1,675
7.300% senior debentures due July 1, 2038	1,500		1,763		1,500		1,772
6.750% senior debentures due June 15, 2039	1,500		1,706		1,500		1,713
5.875% senior debentures due November 15, 2040	1,200		1,254		1,200		1,255
5.500% senior debentures due September 1, 2041	1,250		1,258		1,250		1,258
5.250% sterling senior notes due July 15, 2042 (b)	889		859		861		831
4.500% senior debentures due September 15, 2042	1,250		1,145		1,250		1,142
Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC:
8.375% senior debentures due March 15, 2023	1,000		1,104		1,000		1,148
8.375% senior debentures due July 15, 2033	1,000		1,270		1,000		1,284
Total debt	82,143		82,752		78,416		79,078
Less current portion:
5.000% senior notes due February 1, 2020	—		—		(1,500)		(1,503)
3.579% senior notes due July 23, 2020	—		—		(2,000)		(1,997)
4.000% senior notes due September 1, 2021	(1,000)		(1,008)		—		—
Long-term debt	$	81,143	$	81,744	$	74,916	$	75,578

(a)Principal amount includes £625 million valued at $854 million and $828 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, using the exchange rate at that date.

(b)Principal amount includes £650 million valued at $889 million and $861 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, using the exchange rate at that date.

Schedule of Extinguishment of Debt

Loss on extinguishment of debt consisted of the following for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
CCO Holdings notes redemption	$	(145)	$	(22)
Time Warner Cable, LLC notes redemption	2		—
Charter Operating credit facility refinancing	—		(3)
	$	(143)	$	(25)

Schedule of Long-Term Debt Future Principal Payments


2021	$	1,277
2022	3,277
2023	1,936
2024	2,265
2025	9,820
Thereafter	63,568
	$	82,143

Common Stock (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Common Stock [Abstract]

Schedule of Changes in Common Stock Outstanding

The following table summarizes our shares outstanding for the three years ended December 31, 2020:


	Class A Common Stock	Class B Common Stock
BALANCE, December 31, 2017	238,506,059	1
Exercise of stock options	576,583	—
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	10,223	—
Restricted stock unit vesting	618,649	—
Purchase of treasury stock	(14,357,707)	—
BALANCE, December 31, 2018	225,353,807	1
Exercise of stock options	1,271,419	—
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	8,284	—
Restricted stock unit vesting	728,553	—
Purchase of treasury stock	(17,386,100)	—
BALANCE, December 31, 2019	209,975,963	1
Issuance of equity	55,294	—
Exercise of stock options	3,160,065	—
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	5,992	—
Restricted stock unit vesting	753,139	—
Purchase of treasury stock	(20,219,461)	—
BALANCE, December 31, 2020	193,730,992	1

Class of Treasury Stock

The following represents the Company's purchase of Charter Class A common stock and the effect on the consolidated statements of cash flows during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
	Shares	$		Shares	$		Shares	$
Share buybacks	18,444,203	$	10,639	16,697,458	$	6,734	14,108,919	$	4,322
Income tax withholding	1,022,783	578		380,797	139		224,319	77
Exercise cost	752,475			307,845			24,469
	20,219,461	$	11,217	17,386,100	$	6,873	14,357,707	$	4,399

Noncontrolling Interests (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Noncontrolling Interest [Abstract]

Schedule of Noncontrolling Interest Purchased


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Number of units purchased	2,637,483		2,276,906		2,125,190
Average price per unit	$	554.37	$	388.72	$	308.90
Amount of units purchased	$	1,462	$	885	$	656
Decrease in noncontrolling interest based on carrying value	$	(656)	$	(565)	$	(518)
Decrease in additional paid-in-capital, net of tax	$	(606)	$	(240)	$	(104)

Schedule of effects on statement of shareholders' equity due to ownership changes

Total shareholders' equity was also adjusted during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 due to changes in Charter Holdings' ownership as follows.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Decrease in noncontrolling interest	$	(534)	$	(226)	$	(72)
Increase in additional paid-in-capital, net of tax	$	403	$	170	$	54

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Abstract]

Schedule of Gain (Loss) on Financial Instruments, Net

The effect of financial instruments on the consolidated statements of operations is presented in the table below.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Gain (Loss) on Financial Instruments, Net:
Change in fair value of cross-currency derivative instruments	$	40	$	13	$	(212)
Foreign currency remeasurement of Sterling Notes to U.S. dollars	(55)		(67)		102
	$	(15)	$	(54)	$	(110)

Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Fair Value Measurements [Abstract]

Summary of Carrying and Fair Value of Debt

A summary of the carrying value and fair value of the Company’s debt at December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:


	December 31,
	2020				2019
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
Senior notes and debentures	$	72,671	$	84,163	$	68,733	$	74,938
Credit facilities	$	10,081	$	10,063	$	10,345	$	10,448

Operating Costs and Expenses (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Operating Costs and Expenses [Abstract]

Schedule of Operating Costs and Expenses

Operating costs and expenses, exclusive of items shown separately in the consolidated statements of operations, consist of the following for the periods presented:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Programming	$	11,401	$	11,290	$	11,124
Regulatory, connectivity and produced content	2,183		2,366		2,210
Costs to service customers	7,472		7,277		7,327
Marketing	3,031		3,044		3,042
Mobile	1,765		1,246		346
Other	4,078		4,001		3,811
	$	29,930	$	29,224	$	27,860

Other Operating Expenses, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Other Operating Expenses, Net [Abstract]

Schedule of Other Operating Expenses, Net

Other operating expenses, net consist of the following for the years presented:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Special charges, net	$	90	$	61	$	150
(Gain) loss on sale of assets, net	(32)		42		85
	$	58	$	103	$	235

Stock Compensation Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Stock Compensation Plans [Abstract]

Schedule of Stock Option Activity

A summary of the activity for Charter’s stock options for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is as follows (shares in thousands, except per share data):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020							2019							2018
	Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value		Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value		Shares			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding, beginning of period	10,549			$	241.14			10,410			$	225.53			9,649			$	201.83
Granted	1,672			$	536.27			1,847			$	298.84			1,507			$	350.40
Exercised	(3,160)			$	191.43	$	1,176	(1,271)			$	186.90	$	247	(577)			$	133.35	$	114
Canceled	(219)			$	312.94			(437)			$	270.94			(169)			$	300.46
Outstanding, end of period	8,842			$	312.95	$	3,082	10,549			$	241.14			10,410			$	225.53

Weighted average remaining contractual life	7		years					7		years					7		years
Options exercisable, end of period	2,940			$	220.78	$	1,296	3,119			$	161.13			2,194			$	122.19
Options expected to vest, end of period	5,902			$	358.86	$	1,787
Weighted average fair value of options granted	$	148.02						$	84.39						$	94.70

Schedule of Restricted Stock Activity

A summary of the activity for Charter’s restricted stock for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is as follows (shares in thousands, except per share data):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price
Outstanding, beginning of period	8	$	359.33	10	$	297.86	10	$	343.10
Granted	6	$	504.53	8	$	359.33	10	$	297.86
Vested	(8)	$	359.33	(10)	$	297.86	(10)	$	343.10
Canceled	—	$	—	—	$	—	—	$	—
Outstanding, end of period	6	$	504.53	8	$	359.33	10	$	297.86

Schedule of Restricted Stock Unit Activity

A summary of the activity for Charter’s restricted stock units for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, is as follows (shares in thousands, except per share data):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
	Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price		Shares	Weighted Average Grant Price
Outstanding, beginning of period	2,059	$	249.45	2,211	$	219.61	2,391	$	192.96
Granted	423	$	509.64	704	$	298.22	526	$	348.75
Vested	(753)	$	194.40	(729)	$	206.88	(619)	$	216.27
Canceled	(78)	$	317.45	(127)	$	250.85	(87)	$	286.41
Outstanding, end of period	1,651	$	337.82	2,059	$	249.45	2,211	$	219.61

Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income Tax Benefit (Expense)


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Current benefit (expense):
Federal income taxes	$	7	$	(6)	$	(23)
State income taxes	(168)		(113)		(47)
Current income tax expense	(161)		(119)		(70)

Deferred benefit (expense):
Federal income taxes	(536)		(358)		(204)
State income taxes	71		38		94
Deferred income tax expense	(465)		(320)		(110)
Income tax expense	$	(626)	$	(439)	$	(180)

Schedule of Effective Tax Rate Reconciliation

The Company’s effective tax rate differs from that derived by applying the applicable federal income tax rate of 21% for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Statutory federal income taxes	$	(903)	$	(510)	$	(354)
Statutory state income taxes, net	(122)		(57)		(54)
Change in uncertain tax positions	(57)		(64)		(24)
Nondeductible expenses	(15)		(24)		(25)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	112		80		68
Excess stock compensation	290		63		34
Federal tax credits	35		46		77
Tax rate changes	33		15		107
Other	1		12		(9)
Income tax expense	$	(626)	$	(439)	$	(180)

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities)

The tax effects of these temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2020 and 2019 are presented below.


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Deferred tax assets:
Loss carryforwards	$	1,344	$	1,839
Accrued and other	581		664
Total gross deferred tax assets	1,925		2,503
Less: valuation allowance	(32)		(46)
Deferred tax assets	1,893		2,457

Deferred tax liabilities:
Investment in partnership	(19,996)		(20,159)
Accrued and other	(5)		(9)
Deferred tax liabilities	(20,001)		(20,168)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(18,108)	$	(17,711)

Roll Forward of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, exclusive of interest and penalties, included in other long-term liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of the Company is as follows:


BALANCE, December 31, 2018	$	180
Additions on prior year tax positions	15
Additions on current year tax positions	44
Reductions on settlements and expirations with taxing authorities	(9)
BALANCE, December 31, 2019	$	230
Additions on prior year tax positions	28
Additions on current year tax positions	51
Reductions on settlements and expirations with taxing authorities	(11)
BALANCE, December 31, 2020	$	298

Earnings Per Share (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Schedule of Earnings per Share

The following is the computation of diluted earnings per common share for the years presented.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Numerator:
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	3,222	$	1,668	$	1,230

Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic	203,316,483		219,506,735		232,356,665
Effect of dilutive securities:
Assumed exercise or issuance of shares relating to stock plans	5,956,764		4,279,645		3,168,561
Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted	209,273,247		223,786,380		235,525,226

Basic earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders	$	15.85	$	7.60	$	5.29
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders	$	15.40	$	7.45	$	5.22

Comprehensive Income (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Statement of Other Comprehensive Income [Abstract]

Comprehensive Income

The following table sets forth the consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Consolidated net income	$	3,676	$	1,992	$	1,506
Foreign currency translation adjustment	—		2		(1)
Consolidated comprehensive income	3,676		1,994		1,505
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(454)		(324)		(276)
Comprehensive income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	3,222	$	1,670	$	1,229

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Contractual Obligation Payments

The following table summarizes the Company’s payment obligations as of December 31, 2020 for its contractual obligations.


	Total		2021		2022		2023		2024		2025		Thereafter
Programming Minimum Commitments (a)	$	164	$	130	$	22	$	12	$	—	$	—	$	—
Other (b)	15,317		5,162		920		800		566		580		7,289
	$	15,481	$	5,292	$	942	$	812	$	566	$	580	$	7,289

Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Disclosures [Abstract]

Schedule of Changes in Projected Benefit Obligations and Fair Value of Plan Assets

hanges in the projected benefit obligation, fair value of plan assets and funded status of the pension plans from January 1 through December 31 are presented below:


	2020		2019
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	3,361	$	3,041
Interest cost	110		129
Actuarial loss	436		499
Settlement	(166)		(257)
Benefits paid	(53)		(51)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year (a)	$	3,688	$	3,361

Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year (a)	$	3,688	$	3,361

Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	$	3,198	$	2,943
Actual return on plan assets	480		559
Employer contributions	3		4
Settlement	(166)		(257)
Benefits paid	(53)		(51)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year (b)	$	3,462	$	3,198

Funded status	$	(226)	$	(163)

(b)The fair value of plan assets consists entirely of the Company’s qualified pension plans.

Schedule of Amounts Recognized in the Balance Sheet

Pretax amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 consisted of the following:


	December 31,
	2020		2019
Noncurrent asset	$	1	$	1
Current liability	(5)		(4)
Long-term liability	(222)		(160)
Net amounts recognized in consolidated balance sheet	$	(226)	$	(163)

Schedule of Net Benefit Costs

The components of net periodic benefit (cost) for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 consisted of the following:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Interest cost	$	(110)	$	(129)	$	(128)
Expected return on plan assets	156		164		198
Remeasurement gain (loss)	(112)		(104)		122
Net periodic pension benefit (cost)	$	(66)	$	(69)	$	192

Schedule of Assumptions Used in the Calculation of Net Benefit Cost

Weighted average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs consisted of the following:


	Year ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	5.00	%	5.75	%	5.75	%
Discount rate	3.48	%	4.37	%	4.24	%

Schedule of Target and Actual Investment Allocation

The target and actual investment allocation of the qualified pension plans by asset category consisted of the following:


	December 31, 2020				December 31, 2019
	Target Allocation		Actual Allocation		Target Allocation		Actual Allocation

Return-seeking securities	60.0	%	57.1	%	60.0	%	56.2	%
Liability-matching securities	40.0	%	42.8	%	40.0	%	43.7	%
Other investments	—	%	0.1	%	—	%	0.1	%

Schedule of Investment Assets by Fair Value Heirarchy Level

The following tables set forth the investment assets of the qualified pension plans by level within the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:


	December 31, 2020						December 31, 2019
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2
Cash	$	4	$	4	$	—	$	4	$	4	$	—
Commingled bond funds(a)	1,449		—		1,449		1,335		—		1,335
Commingled equity funds(a)	1,255		—		1,255		1,135		—		1,135
Collective trust funds(b)	178		—		178		139		—		139
Total investment assets	2,886		$	4	$	2,882	2,613		$	4	$	2,609
Accrued investment income and other receivables	19						1
Investments measured at net asset value(c)	557						584
Fair value of plan assets	$	3,462					$	3,198

Schedule of Investment Assets Measured Using NAV

NAV per share on a month or quarter lag. There are no material unfunded commitments with respect to these investment classes.


	Fair Value
	December 31,				Redemption Frequency (if currently eligible)	Redemption Notice Period
	2020		2019
Alternative funds(a)	$	283	$	271	weekly, monthly, quarterly	1-180 days
Fixed income funds(b)	148		177		daily, monthly	10-40 days
Real estate funds(c)	126		136		quarterly	45-90 days
Investments measured at NAV	$	557	$	584

(b)Fixed income funds invest in residential and commercial mortgages, as well as global sovereign securities.

Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information

The following table presents quarterly data for the periods presented in the consolidated statement of operations:


	Year Ended December 31, 2020
	First Quarter		Second Quarter		Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter
Revenues	$	11,738	$	11,696	$	12,039	$	12,624
Income from operations	$	1,802	$	1,969	$	2,172	$	2,462
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	396	$	766	$	814	$	1,246

Earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders:
Basic	$	1.91	$	3.72	$	4.01	$	6.33
Diluted	$	1.86	$	3.63	$	3.90	$	6.05

Weighted average common share outstanding:
Basic	207,831,305		205,777,438		202,826,502		196,906,511
Diluted	212,810,613		210,906,946		208,722,129		212,077,917


	Year Ended December 31, 2019
	First Quarter		Second Quarter		Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter
Revenues	$	11,206	$	11,347	$	11,450	$	11,761
Income from operations	$	1,425	$	1,541	$	1,586	$	1,959
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$	253	$	314	$	387	$	714

Earnings per common share attributable to Charter shareholders:
Basic	$	1.13	$	1.41	$	1.77	$	3.36
Diluted	$	1.11	$	1.39	$	1.74	$	3.28

Weighted average common share outstanding:
Basic	224,630,122		222,392,274		218,499,213		212,648,072
Diluted	227,595,365		225,942,172		222,355,867		217,778,099

Parent Company Only Financial Statements (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Parent Company Only Financial Statements [Abstract]

Schedule of Condensed Financial Statements


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Balance Sheets

	December 31,
	2020		2019
ASSETS
Accounts receivable, net	$	1	$	1
Receivables from related party	28		34
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	20		10
Investment in subsidiaries	41,813		49,024
Loans receivable - related party	275		260
Other noncurrent assets	1		2
Total assets	$	42,138	$	49,331

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY
Current liabilities	$	22	$	18
Deferred income taxes	18,030		17,641
Other long-term liabilities	281		227
Shareholder's equity	23,805		31,445
Total liabilities and shareholder's equity	$	42,138	$	49,331


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Statements of Operations

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
INCOME
Revenues	$	64	$	52	$	46
Interest income	12		10		9
Equity in income of subsidiaries	3,771		1,998		1,377
Total income	3,847		2,060		1,432

EXPENSES
Operating costs and expenses	64		52		46

Income before income taxes	3,783		2,008		1,386
Income tax expense	(561)		(340)		(156)
Net income	$	3,222	$	1,668	$	1,230


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Net income	$	3,222	$	1,668	$	1,230
Foreign currency translation adjustment	—		2		(1)
Comprehensive income	$	3,222	$	1,670	$	1,229


Charter Communications, Inc. (Parent Company Only)
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
NET CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	$	(49)	$	(36)	$	(10)

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Contribution to subsidiaries	(208)		(119)		(69)
Distributions from subsidiaries	11,268		6,910		4,421
Net cash flows from investing activities	11,060		6,791		4,352

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	184		118		69
Issuance of equity	23		—		—
Purchase of treasury stock	(11,217)		(6,873)		(4,399)
Repayments of loans payable - related parties	(1)		—		(12)
Net cash flows from financing activities	(11,011)		(6,755)		(4,342)

NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	—		—		—
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	—		—		—
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	$	—	$	—	$	—

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues	$ 12,624,000,000	$ 12,039,000,000	$ 11,696,000,000	$ 11,738,000,000	$ 11,761,000,000	$ 11,450,000,000	$ 11,347,000,000	$ 11,206,000,000	$ 48,097,000,000	$ 45,764,000,000	$ 43,634,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets held-for-use									0	0	0
Impairment of long-lived assets held for sale										42,000,000	75,000,000
Governmental imposed fees passed through to the customer									1,100,000,000	1,100,000,000	1,000,000,000.0
Customer prepayments - account payable and accrued liabilities	363,000,000				366,000,000				363,000,000	366,000,000
Upfront installation fees - account payable and accrued liabilities	73,000,000				94,000,000				73,000,000	94,000,000
Long-term deferred revenue liabilities - other long-term liabilities	35,000,000				34,000,000				35,000,000	34,000,000
Deferred enterprise commission costs - noncurrent asset	138,000,000				143,000,000				138,000,000	143,000,000
Deferred upfront MDU fees - noncurrent asset	$ 320,000,000				$ 284,000,000				320,000,000	284,000,000
Amortization expense of deferred upfront MDU fees									71,000,000	67,000,000	62,000,000
Programming costs									$ 11,401,000,000	$ 11,290,000,000	$ 11,124,000,000
Number of reportable segments									1
Weighted average assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options at the date of grant:
Risk-free interest rate (percentage)									1.40%	2.50%	2.40%
Expected volatility rate (percentage)									27.00%	27.00%	25.00%
Expected life (in years)									5 years 6 months	4 years 10 months 24 days	5 years 1 month 6 days
Minimum \| Cable distribution systems
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									6 years
Minimum \| Customer premise equipment and installations
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									3 years
Minimum \| Vehicles and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									6 years
Minimum \| Buildings and improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									8 years
Minimum \| Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									2 years
Maximum \| Cable distribution systems
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									22 years
Maximum \| Customer premise equipment and installations
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									8 years
Maximum \| Vehicles and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									21 years
Maximum \| Buildings and improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									40 years
Maximum \| Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, useful life (in years)									10 years
Internet
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									$ 18,521,000,000	$ 16,667,000,000	$ 15,181,000,000
Video
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									17,432,000,000	17,607,000,000	17,348,000,000
Voice
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									1,806,000,000	1,920,000,000	2,114,000,000
Residential revenue
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									37,759,000,000	36,194,000,000	34,643,000,000
Small and medium business
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									3,964,000,000	3,868,000,000	3,665,000,000
Enterprise
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									2,468,000,000	2,556,000,000	2,528,000,000
Commercial revenue
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									6,432,000,000	6,424,000,000	6,193,000,000
Advertising sales
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									1,699,000,000	1,568,000,000	1,785,000,000
Mobile
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									1,364,000,000	726,000,000	106,000,000
Other
Revenue by Product Line
Revenues									$ 843,000,000	$ 852,000,000	$ 907,000,000

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	$ 151	$ 129	$ 113
Charged to expense	560	659	570
Uncollected balances written off, net of recoveries	(517)	(637)	(554)
Balance, end of period	$ 194	$ 151	$ 129

Property, Plant and Equipment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 65,996	$ 62,247
Less: accumulated depreciation	(31,639)	(27,656)
Property, plant and equipment, net	34,357	34,591
Depreciation expense	7,800	7,800	$ 7,900
Cable distribution systems
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, gross	33,693	31,542
Customer premise equipment and installations
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, gross	17,756	17,492
Vehicles and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, gross	1,932	1,879
Buildings and improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, gross	5,396	4,843
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 7,219	$ 6,491

Franchises, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets:
Goodwill	$ 29,554	$ 29,554
Indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill	97,499	97,035
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets:
Gross Carrying Amount	18,650	18,635
Accumulated Amortization	(12,774)	(10,899)
Net Carrying Amount	5,876	7,736
Amortization expense	1,900	2,200	$ 2,400
2021	1,602
2022	1,332
2023	1,075
2024	824
2025	575
Thereafter	468
Franchises
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets:
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	67,322	67,322
Wireless spectrum licenses
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets:
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	464	0
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets Acquired	464
Trademarks
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets:
Indefinite-lived intangible assets	159	159
Customer relationships
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets:
Gross Carrying Amount	18,230	18,230
Accumulated Amortization	(12,615)	(10,777)
Net Carrying Amount	$ 5,615	7,453
Customer relationships \| Minimum
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets:
Customer relationships, useful life	8 years
Customer relationships \| Maximum
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets:
Customer relationships, useful life	15 years
Other intangible assets
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets:
Gross Carrying Amount	$ 420	405
Accumulated Amortization	(159)	(122)
Net Carrying Amount	$ 261	$ 283

Investments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Investments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Investments [Abstract]
Equity-method investments	$ 294	$ 309
Other investments	19	21
Total investments	313	330
Net losses from equity-method investments	31	137	$ 77
Impairment on equity investments	10	121	$ 58
Unamortized basis difference for equity-method investments acquired	186	203
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
RESTRICTED CASH	3	66
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	34,357	34,591
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES	$ 4,198	3,703
Mortgage note liability
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.612%
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
RESTRICTED CASH	$ 3	66
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	490	295
Current liabilities	28	11
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES	470	350
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary \| Mortgage note liability
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES	$ 400	$ 339

Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Abstract]
Accounts payable – trade	$ 763	$ 786
Deferred revenue	436	460
Accrued liabilities:
Programming costs	1,940	2,042
Labor	1,374	1,028
Capital expenditures	1,227	1,441
Interest	1,083	1,052
Taxes and regulatory fees	555	537
Property and casualty	462	458
Operating lease liabilities	235	214
Other	792	867
Total	$ 8,867	$ 8,885

Leases (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Leases (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Operating Lease Expense	$ 439	$ 428
short term leases and variable leases costs	135	130
Operating Lease Payments	300	288
Right-of-Use Asset Obtained in Exchange for Operating Lease Liability	378	257
Operating Lease, Right-of-Use Asset	$ 1,214	$ 1,092
Included within other noncurrent assets	us-gaap:OtherAssets	us-gaap:OtherAssets
Operating lease liabilities	$ 235	$ 214
Current portion included within accounts payable and accrued liabilities	us-gaap:AccountsPayableAndAccruedLiabilitiesCurrent	us-gaap:AccountsPayableAndAccruedLiabilitiesCurrent
Noncurrent portion of operating lease liability	$ 1,110	$ 979
Long-term portion included within other long-term liabilities	us-gaap:OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent	us-gaap:OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent
Operating Lease, Liability	$ 1,345	$ 1,193
Weighted average remaining operating lease term (in years)	6 years 4 months 24 days	6 years 7 months 6 days
Weighted average discount rate - operating leases (percentage)	3.90%	4.40%
Finance Lease Liabilities	$ 63	$ 62
Lessee, Operating Lease, Liability, Payment, Due [Abstract]
2021	304
2022	275
2023	250
2024	211
2025	164
Thereafter	368
Undiscounted lease cash flow commitments	1,572
Reconciling impact from discounting	$ (227)

Long-Term Debt (Details) £ in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Long-Term Debt (Details) £ in Millions, $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 GBP (£)
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 82,143	$ 78,416
Accreted value	82,752	79,078
Accreted value, current portion	(1,008)	(3,500)
Principal amount, noncurrent portion	81,143	74,916
Accreted value, noncurrent portion	81,744	75,578
Principal amount, repurchased	10,700	1,350
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(143)	(25)	$ 0
Letters of credit outstanding secured under the Charter Operating credit facility	41
Letters of credit, amount	367
2021	1,277
2022	3,277
2023	1,936
2024	2,265
2025	9,820
Thereafter	63,568
Credit facilities
Long-Term Debt:
Accreted value	10,081	10,345
CCO Holdings
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	8,650
Loss on extinguishment of debt	$ (145)	(22)
Debt instrument redemption price (percentage)	100.00%
Debt instrument, amount of principal that may be redeemed (percentage)	40.00%
Debt instrument redemption price in the event of change of control events (percentage)	101.00%
Leverage ratio	3.9			3.9
CCO Holdings \| Maximum
Long-Term Debt:
Leverage ratio	6.0			6.0
CCO Holdings \| Minimum
Long-Term Debt:
Leverage ratio	1.0			1.0
CCO Holdings \| 5.250% Senior Notes Due September 30, 2022
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	1,250
Accreted value	$ 0	1,241
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.25%			5.25%
CCO Holdings \| 5.125% Senior Notes Due February 15, 2023
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	1,000
Accreted value	$ 0	995
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.125%			5.125%
CCO Holdings \| 4.000% Senior Notes Due March 1, 2023
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 500	500
Accreted value	$ 498	497
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.00%			4.00%
CCO Holdings \| 5.125% Senior Notes Due May 1, 2023
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	1,150
Accreted value	$ 0	1,145
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.125%			5.125%
CCO Holdings \| 5.750% Senior Notes Due September 1, 2023
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	500
Accreted value	$ 0	497
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.75%			5.75%
CCO Holdings \| 5.750% Senior Notes Due January 15, 2024
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	150
Accreted value	$ 0	149
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.75%			5.75%
CCO Holdings \| 5.875% Senior Notes Due April 1, 2024
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	1,700
Accreted value	$ 0	1,690
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.875%			5.875%
CCO Holdings \| 5.375% Senior Notes Due May 1, 2025
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	750
Accreted value	$ 0	746
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.375%			5.375%
CCO Holdings \| 5.750% Senior Notes Due February 15, 2026
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,500	2,500
Accreted value	$ 2,475	2,471
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.75%			5.75%
CCO Holdings \| 5.500% Senior Notes Due May 1, 2026
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,500	1,500
Accreted value	$ 1,492	1,491
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.50%			5.50%
CCO Holdings \| 5.875% Senior Notes Due May 1, 2027
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 800	800
Accreted value	$ 796	796
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.875%			5.875%
CCO Holdings \| 5.125% Senior Notes Due May 1, 2027
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,250	3,250
Accreted value	$ 3,225	3,222
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.125%			5.125%
CCO Holdings \| 5.000% Senior Notes Due February 1, 2028
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,500	2,500
Accreted value	$ 2,472	2,469
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.00%			5.00%
CCO Holdings \| 5.375% senior notes due June 1, 2029
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,500	1,500
Accreted value	$ 1,501	1,501
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.375%			5.375%
CCO Holdings \| 4.750% senior notes due March 1, 2030
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,050	3,050
Accreted value	$ 3,042	3,041
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.75%			4.75%
CCO Holdings \| 4.500% senior notes due August 15, 2030
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,750	0
Accreted value	$ 2,750	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.50%			4.50%
CCO Holdings \| 4.250% senior notes due February 1, 2031
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,000	0
Accreted value	$ 3,001	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.25%			4.25%
CCO Holdings \| 4.500% senior notes due May 1, 2032
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,900	0
Accreted value	$ 2,928	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.50%			4.50%
Charter Operating
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 6,000
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	(3)
Charter Operating \| 3.579% Senior Notes Due July 23, 2020
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	0	2,000
Accreted value	0	1,997
Principal amount, current portion	0	(2,000)
Accreted value, current portion	$ 0	(1,997)
Stated interest rate (percentage)	3.579%			3.579%
Charter Operating \| 4.464% Senior Notes Due July 23, 2022
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,000	3,000
Accreted value	$ 2,992	2,987
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.464%			4.464%
Charter Operating \| Senior Floating Rate Notes due February 1, 2024
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 900	900
Accreted value	902	902
Charter Operating \| 4.500% Senior Notes due February 1, 2024
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	1,100	1,100
Accreted value	$ 1,094	1,093
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.50%			4.50%
Charter Operating \| 4.908% Senior Notes Due July 23, 2025
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 4,500	4,500
Accreted value	$ 4,475	4,471
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.908%			4.908%
Charter Operating \| 3.750% Senior Notes Due February 15, 2028
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,000	1,000
Accreted value	$ 989	987
Stated interest rate (percentage)	3.75%			3.75%
Charter Operating \| 4.200% Senior Notes Due March 15, 2028
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,250	1,250
Accreted value	$ 1,241	1,240
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.20%			4.20%
Charter Operating \| 5.050% Senior Notes due March 30, 2029
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,250	1,250
Accreted value	$ 1,242	1,241
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.05%			5.05%
Charter Operating \| 2.800% Senior Notes due April 1, 2031
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,600	0
Accreted value	$ 1,583	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	2.80%			2.80%
Charter Operating \| 2.300% Senior Notes due February 1, 2032
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,000	0
Accreted value	$ 991	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	2.30%			2.30%
Charter Operating \| 6.384% Senior Notes Due October 23, 2035
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,000	2,000
Accreted value	$ 1,983	1,982
Stated interest rate (percentage)	6.384%			6.384%
Charter Operating \| 5.375% Senior Notes due April 1, 2038
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 800	800
Accreted value	$ 786	786
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.375%			5.375%
Charter Operating \| 6.484% Senior Notes Due October 23, 2045
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,500	3,500
Accreted value	$ 3,468	3,467
Stated interest rate (percentage)	6.484%			6.484%
Charter Operating \| 5.375% Senior Notes Due May 1, 2047
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,500	2,500
Accreted value	$ 2,506	2,506
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.375%			5.375%
Charter Operating \| 5.750% Senior Notes due April 1, 2048
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,450	2,450
Accreted value	$ 2,392	2,391
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.75%			5.75%
Charter Operating \| 5.125% Senior Notes due July 1, 2049
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,250	1,250
Accreted value	$ 1,240	1,240
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.125%			5.125%
Charter Operating \| 4.800% senior notes due March 1, 2050
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,800	2,800
Accreted value	$ 2,797	2,798
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.80%			4.80%
Charter Operating \| 3.700% senior notes due April 1, 2051
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,050	0
Accreted value	$ 2,030	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	3.70%			3.70%
Charter Operating \| 6.834% Senior Notes Due October 23, 2055
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 500	500
Accreted value	$ 495	495
Stated interest rate (percentage)	6.834%			6.834%
Charter Operating \| 3.850% Senior Notes Due April 1, 2061
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,350	0
Accreted value	$ 1,339	0
Stated interest rate (percentage)	3.85%			3.85%
Charter Operating \| Credit facilities
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 10,150	10,427
Accreted value	$ 10,081	$ 10,345
Variable interest rate at end of period (percentage)	0.14%	1.73%		0.14%
Charter Operating \| 4.000% Senior Notes Due September 1, 2021
Long-Term Debt:
Principal amount, current portion	$ (1,000)	$ 0
Accreted value, current portion	(1,008)	0
Charter Operating \| Revolving Credit Facility
Long-Term Debt:
Availability under credit facilities	4,700
Maximum borrowing capacity	4,750
Letters of credit outstanding secured under the Charter Operating credit facility	41
Charter Operating \| Term Loan A-2
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	194
Debt instrument, required periodic principal payments	$ 11
Basis spread on variable interest rate (percentage)	1.50%
Charter Operating \| Term Loan A-4
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,800
Debt instrument, required periodic principal payments	$ 202
Basis spread on variable interest rate (percentage)	1.25%
Charter Operating \| Term Loan B-1
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 2,400
Debt instrument, required periodic principal payments	$ 25
Basis spread on variable interest rate (percentage)	1.75%
Charter Operating \| Term Loan B-2
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 3,800
Debt instrument, required periodic principal payments	$ 38
Basis spread on variable interest rate (percentage)	1.75%
Charter Operating \| Revolving credit facility maturing in 2023
Long-Term Debt:
Basis spread on variable interest rate (percentage)	1.50%
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 249
Commitment fee (percentage)	0.30%
Charter Operating \| Revolving credit facility maturing in 2025
Long-Term Debt:
Basis spread on variable interest rate (percentage)	1.25%
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 4,500
Commitment fee (percentage)	0.20%
Time Warner Cable, LLC
Long-Term Debt:
Loss on extinguishment of debt	$ 2	0
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 5.000% Senior Notes Due February 1, 2020
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	0	1,500
Accreted value	0	1,503
Principal amount, current portion	0	(1,500)
Accreted value, current portion	$ 0	(1,503)
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.00%			5.00%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 4.125% Senior Notes Due February 15, 2021
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 0	700
Accreted value	$ 0	711
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.125%			4.125%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 4.000% Senior Notes Due September 1, 2021
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,000	1,000
Accreted value	$ 1,008	1,021
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.00%			4.00%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 5.750% Sterling Senior Notes Due June 2, 2031
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 854	828		£ 625
Accreted value	$ 911	886
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.75%			5.75%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 6.550% Senior Debentures Due May 1, 2037
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,500	1,500
Accreted value	$ 1,668	1,675
Stated interest rate (percentage)	6.55%			6.55%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 7.300% Senior Debentures Due July 1, 2038
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,500	1,500
Accreted value	$ 1,763	1,772
Stated interest rate (percentage)	7.30%			7.30%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 6.750% Senior Debentures Due June 15, 2039
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,500	1,500
Accreted value	$ 1,706	1,713
Stated interest rate (percentage)	6.75%			6.75%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 5.875% Senior Debentures Due November 15, 2040
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,200	1,200
Accreted value	$ 1,254	1,255
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.875%			5.875%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 5.500% Senior Debentures Due September 1, 2041
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,250	1,250
Accreted value	$ 1,258	1,258
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.50%			5.50%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 5.250% Sterling Senior Notes Due July 15, 2042
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 889	861		£ 650
Accreted value	$ 859	831
Stated interest rate (percentage)	5.25%			5.25%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| 4.500% Senior Debentures Due September 15, 2042
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,250	1,250
Accreted value	$ 1,145	1,142
Stated interest rate (percentage)	4.50%			4.50%
Time Warner Cable, LLC \| Sterling Senior Notes
Long-Term Debt:
Debt instrument redemption price (percentage)	100.00%
Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC \| 8.375% Senior Debentures Due March 15, 2023
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,000	1,000
Accreted value	$ 1,104	1,148
Stated interest rate (percentage)	8.375%			8.375%
Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC \| 8.375% Senior Debentures Due July 15, 2033
Long-Term Debt:
Principal Amount	$ 1,000	1,000
Accreted value	$ 1,270	$ 1,284
Stated interest rate (percentage)	8.375%			8.375%

Common Stock (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Common Stock (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Common Stock:
Issuance of equity	$ 23
Purchase of treasury stock, value	11,217	$ 6,873	$ 4,399
Remaining value of Class A common stock shares authorized to be repurchased	$ 1,500
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Exercise of stock options	3,160,000	1,271,000	577,000
Purchase of treasury stock	(20,219,461)	(17,386,100)	(14,357,707)
Liberty Broadband [Member]
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Issuance of equity	35,112
A/N
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Issuance of equity	20,182
Share buybacks
Common Stock:
Purchase of treasury stock, value	$ 10,639	$ 6,734	$ 4,322
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Purchase of treasury stock	(18,444,203)	(16,697,458)	(14,108,919)
Income tax withholding
Common Stock:
Purchase of treasury stock, value	$ 578	$ 139	$ 77
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Purchase of treasury stock	(1,022,783)	(380,797)	(224,319)
Exercise cost
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Purchase of treasury stock	(752,475)	(307,845)	(24,469)
Class A Common Stock
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)	209,975,963	225,353,807	238,506,059
Issuance of equity	55,294
Exercise of stock options	3,160,065	1,271,419	576,583
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	5,992	8,284	10,223
Restricted stock unit vesting	753,139	728,553	618,649
Purchase of treasury stock	(20,219,461)	(17,386,100)	(14,357,707)
Shares outstanding, end of period (in shares)	193,730,992	209,975,963	225,353,807
Class B Common Stock
Roll Forward of Common Shares:
Shares outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)	1	1	1
Exercise of stock options	0	0	0
Restricted stock issuances, net of cancellations	0	0	0
Restricted stock unit vesting	0	0	0
Purchase of treasury stock	0	0	0
Shares outstanding, end of period (in shares)	1	1	1

Noncontrolling Interests (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Noncontrolling Interests:
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	$ 454	$ 324	$ 276
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	154	154	153
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(1,262)	(805)	(622)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	(131)	(56)	(18)
Noncontrolling Interests
Noncontrolling Interests:
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	154	154	153
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(656)	(565)	(518)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	(534)	(226)	(72)
Additional Paid-in Capital
Noncontrolling Interests:
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	0	0	0
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(606)	(240)	(104)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	403	170	54
Common Noncontrolling Interest
Noncontrolling Interests:
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	303	173	125
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	$ 3	$ 2	$ 3
Number of units purchased	2,637,483	2,276,906	2,125,190
Average price per unit	$ 554.37	$ 388.72	$ 308.90
Amount of units purchased	$ 1,462	$ 885	$ 656
Common Noncontrolling Interest \| A/N
Noncontrolling Interests:
Shares held by noncontrolling shareholders (shares)	15,300,000
Ownership percentage held by noncontrolling interest (percentage)	8.00%
Common Noncontrolling Interest \| Noncontrolling Interests
Noncontrolling Interests:
Purchase of noncontrolling interest, net of tax	$ (656)	(565)	(518)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	(534)	(226)	(72)
Common Noncontrolling Interest \| Additional Paid-in Capital
Noncontrolling Interests:
Decrease in additional paid-in-capital, net of tax	(606)	(240)	(104)
Change in noncontrolling interest ownership, net of tax	403	170	54
Preferred Noncontrolling Interest
Noncontrolling Interests:
Distributions to noncontrolling interest	150	$ 150	$ 150
Convertible units, face amount	$ 2,500
Convertible units, dividend rate (percentage)	6.00%
Number of units to be received upon conversion to Charter Holdings common units (in units)	0.37334
Number of shares to be received upon conversion to Charter Class A common stock (in shares)	0.37334
Convertible units, conversion price (dollars per unit)	$ 267.85
Convertible units, conversion price threshold (percentage)	130.00%
Convertible units, conversion price threshold (dollars per unit)	$ 348.205
Preferred Noncontrolling Interest \| A/N
Noncontrolling Interests:
Shares held by noncontrolling shareholders (shares)	25,000,000
Maximum \| Charter
Noncontrolling Interests:
Noncontrolling interest ownership threshold (percentage)	100.00%

Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Details) £ in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 GBP (£)
Gain (loss) on financial instruments, net:
Change in fair value of cross-currency derivative instruments	$ 40	$ 13	$ (212)
Foreign currency remeasurement of Sterling Notes to U.S. dollars	(55)	(67)	102
Gain (loss) on financial instruments, net	$ (15)	(54)	$ (110)
Cross Currency Derivatives
Derivatives:
Notional amount \| £				£ 1,275
Collateral holiday agreement, position covered (percentage)	60.00%			60.00%
Collateral holiday agreement, term	3 years
Collateral cap, percentage of liability covered	40.00%			40.00%
Maximum amount of collateral required to be posted	$ 150
Level 2 \| Cross Currency Derivatives
Derivatives:
Derivative Liability	$ 184	$ 224

Fair Value Measurements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value Measurements:
Carrying Value	$ 82,752	$ 79,078
Senior notes and debentures
Fair Value Measurements:
Carrying Value	72,671	68,733
Credit facilities
Fair Value Measurements:
Carrying Value	10,081	10,345
Level 1 \| Senior notes and debentures
Fair Value Measurements:
Fair Value	84,163	74,938
Level 2 \| Credit facilities
Fair Value Measurements:
Fair Value	10,063	10,448
Cross Currency Derivatives \| Level 2
Fair Value Measurements:
Derivative Liability	$ 184	$ 224

Operating Costs and Expenses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Operating Costs and Expenses [Abstract]
Programming	$ 11,401	$ 11,290	$ 11,124
Regulatory, connectivity and produced content	2,183	2,366	2,210
Costs to service customers	7,472	7,277	7,327
Marketing	3,031	3,044	3,042
Mobile	1,765	1,246	346
Other	4,078	4,001	3,811
Operating costs and expenses	$ 29,930	$ 29,224	$ 27,860

Other Operating Expenses, Net (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Other Operating Expenses, Net [Abstract]
Special charges, net	$ 90	$ 61	$ 150
(Gain) loss on sale of assets, net	(32)	42	85
Other operating expenses, net	$ 58	103	235
Merger And Restructuring Costs			97
Obligation charge arising from a withdrawal liability from a multi-employer pension plan			22
Impairment Charge		$ 42	$ 75

Stock Compensation Plans (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Stock Compensation Plans:
Stock compensation expense	$ 351.0	$ 315.0	$ 285.0
Roll Forward of Stock Options Outstanding:
Stock options outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)	10,549,000	10,410,000	9,649,000
Stock options granted (in shares)	1,672,000	1,847,000	1,507,000
Stock options exercised (in shares)	(3,160,000)	(1,271,000)	(577,000)
Stock options canceled (in shares)	(219,000)	(437,000)	(169,000)
Stock options outstanding, end of period (in shares)	8,842,000	10,549,000	10,410,000
Stock options outstanding weighted average exercise price, beginning of period	$ 241.14	$ 225.53	$ 201.83
Stock options granted weighted average exercise price	536.27	298.84	350.40
Stock options exercised weighted average exercise price	191.43	186.90	133.35
Stock options canceled weighted average exercise price	312.94	270.94	300.46
Stock options outstanding weighted average exercise price, end of period	$ 312.95	$ 241.14	$ 225.53
Stock options exercised aggregate intrinsic value	$ 1,176.0	$ 247.0	$ 114.0
Stock options outstanding aggregate intrinsic value	$ 3,082.0
Stock options outstanding weighted average remaining contractual life (in years)	7 years	7 years	7 years
Stock options exercisable, end of period (in shares)	2,940,000	3,119,000	2,194,000
Stock options exercisable weighted average exercise price, end of period	$ 220.78	$ 161.13	$ 122.19
Stock options exercisable aggregate intrinsic value, end of period	$ 1,296.0
Stock options expected to vest, end of period (in shares)	5,902,000
Stock options expected to vest weighted average exercise price, end of period	$ 358.86
Stock options expected to vest aggregate intrinsic value, end of period	$ 1,787.0
Stock options granted weighted average grant date fair value	$ 148.02	$ 84.39	$ 94.70
Stock Options
Stock Compensation Plans:
Award vesting period (in years)	3 years
Award expiration period (in years)	10 years
Unrecognized compensation expense	$ 241.0
Remaining period over which unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized (in years)	2 years
Restricted Stock
Stock Compensation Plans:
Award vesting period (in years)	1 year
Unrecognized compensation expense	$ 1.0
Remaining period over which unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized (in years)	4 months
Roll Forward of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Outstanding:
Awards other than stock options outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)	8,000	10,000	10,000
Awards other than stock options, granted (in shares)	6,000	8,000	10,000
Awards other than stock options, vested (in shares)	(8,000)	(10,000)	(10,000)
Awards other than stock options, canceled (in shares)	0	0	0
Awards other than stock options outstanding, end of period (in shares)	6,000	8,000	10,000
Awards other than stock options outstanding weighted average grant price, beginning of period	$ 359.33	$ 297.86	$ 343.10
Awards other than stock options granted weighted average grant price	504.53	359.33	297.86
Awards other than stock options vested weighted average grant price	359.33	297.86	343.10
Awards other than stock options canceled weighted average grant price	0	0	0
Awards other than stock options outstanding weighted average grant price, end of period	$ 504.53	$ 359.33	$ 297.86
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Stock Compensation Plans:
Award vesting period (in years)	3 years
Unrecognized compensation expense	$ 213.0
Remaining period over which unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized (in years)	2 years
Roll Forward of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Outstanding:
Awards other than stock options outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)	2,059,000	2,211,000	2,391,000
Awards other than stock options, granted (in shares)	423,000	704,000	526,000
Awards other than stock options, vested (in shares)	(753,000)	(729,000)	(619,000)
Awards other than stock options, canceled (in shares)	(78,000)	(127,000)	(87,000)
Awards other than stock options outstanding, end of period (in shares)	1,651,000	2,059,000	2,211,000
Awards other than stock options outstanding weighted average grant price, beginning of period	$ 249.45	$ 219.61	$ 192.96
Awards other than stock options granted weighted average grant price	509.64	298.22	348.75
Awards other than stock options vested weighted average grant price	194.40	206.88	216.27
Awards other than stock options canceled weighted average grant price	317.45	250.85	286.41
Awards other than stock options outstanding weighted average grant price, end of period	$ 337.82	$ 249.45	$ 219.61
Class A Common Stock
Stock Compensation Plans:
Shares authorized under the the stock incentive plan (in shares)	16,000,000
Roll Forward of Stock Options Outstanding:
Stock options exercised (in shares)	(3,160,065)	(1,271,419)	(576,583)
Roll Forward of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Outstanding:
Awards other than stock options, vested (in shares)	(753,139)	(728,553)	(618,649)

Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Components of Income Tax Benefit (Expense) and Effective Tax Rate Reconciliation:
Federal income taxes	$ 7,000,000	$ (6,000,000)	$ (23,000,000)
State income taxes	(168,000,000)	(113,000,000)	(47,000,000)
Current income tax expense	(161,000,000)	(119,000,000)	(70,000,000)
Federal income taxes	(536,000,000)	(358,000,000)	(204,000,000)
State income taxes	71,000,000	38,000,000	94,000,000
Deferred income tax expense	(465,000,000)	(320,000,000)	(110,000,000)
Income tax expense	$ (626,000,000)	(439,000,000)	(180,000,000)
Federal income tax rate (percentage)	21.00%
Statutory federal income taxes	$ (903,000,000)	(510,000,000)	(354,000,000)
Statutory state income taxes, net	(122,000,000)	(57,000,000)	(54,000,000)
Change in uncertain tax positions	(57,000,000)	(64,000,000)	(24,000,000)
Nondeductible expenses	(15,000,000)	(24,000,000)	(25,000,000)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	112,000,000	80,000,000	68,000,000
Excess stock compensation	290,000,000	63,000,000	34,000,000
Federal tax credits	35,000,000	46,000,000	77,000,000
Tax rate changes	33,000,000	15,000,000	107,000,000
Other	1,000,000	12,000,000	(9,000,000)
Components of Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities):
Loss carryforwards	1,344,000,000	1,839,000,000
Accrued and other	581,000,000	664,000,000
Total gross deferred tax assets	1,925,000,000	2,503,000,000
Valuation Allowance:
Less: valuation allowance	(32,000,000)	(46,000,000)
Deferred tax assets	1,893,000,000	2,457,000,000
Investment in partnership	(19,996,000,000)	(20,159,000,000)
Accrued and other	(5,000,000)	(9,000,000)
Deferred tax liabilities	(20,001,000,000)	(20,168,000,000)
Net deferred tax liabilities	(18,108,000,000)	(17,711,000,000)
Net deferred tax liabilities related to certain indirect subsidiaries that file separate income tax returns	$ 53,000,000	55,000,000
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards:
Liberty Media Corporation’s beneficial interest in Legacy Charter (percentage)	27.00%
Federal tax loss carryforwards subject to 382 and other restrictions	$ 676,000,000
Net operating loss carryforwards for which the use is limited	$ 226,000,000
Tax Receivable Agreement:
A/N’s share of the tax benefit realized by Charter pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement (percentage)	50.00%
Minimum estimated obligation due to A/N under the Tax Receivable Agreement	$ 0
Maximum estimated obligation due to A/N under the Tax Receivable Agreement	3,500,000,000
Uncertain Tax Positions:
Unrecognized tax benefits that would impact the effective tax rate	302,000,000
Decrease in unrecognized tax benefits that is reasonably possible in 2017	25,000,000
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning balance	230,000,000	180,000,000
Additions on prior year tax positions	28,000,000	15,000,000
Additions on current year tax positions	51,000,000	44,000,000
Reductions on settlements and expirations with taxing authorities	(11,000,000)	(9,000,000)
Unrecognized tax benefits, ending balance	298,000,000	230,000,000	$ 180,000,000
Interest and penalties accrued on uncertain income tax positions	63,000,000	56,000,000
Operating Loss Carryforwards
Valuation Allowance:
Less: valuation allowance	(9,000,000)	(9,000,000)
State Operating Loss Carryforwards and Other
Valuation Allowance:
Less: valuation allowance	(23,000,000)	$ (37,000,000)
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards:
Net operating loss carryforwards	5,300,000,000
Deferred tax assets, operating loss carryforwards subject to expiration	1,100,000,000
State and Local Jurisdiction
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards:
Deferred tax assets, operating loss carryforwards subject to expiration	$ 223,000,000

Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)									26,000,000	29,000,000	31,000,000
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$ 1,246	$ 814	$ 766	$ 396	$ 714	$ 387	$ 314	$ 253	$ 3,222	$ 1,668	$ 1,230
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	196,906,511	202,826,502	205,777,438	207,831,305	212,648,072	218,499,213	222,392,274	224,630,122	203,316,483	219,506,735	232,356,665
Effect of assumed exercise or issuance of shares related to stock plans on denominator (in shares)									5,956,764	4,279,645	3,168,561
Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted (in shares)	212,077,917	208,722,129	210,906,946	212,810,613	217,778,099	222,355,867	225,942,172	227,595,365	209,273,247	223,786,380	235,525,226
Earnings per common share, basic	$ 6.33	$ 4.01	$ 3.72	$ 1.91	$ 3.36	$ 1.77	$ 1.41	$ 1.13	$ 15.85	$ 7.60	$ 5.29
Earnings per common share, diluted	$ 6.05	$ 3.90	$ 3.63	$ 1.86	$ 3.28	$ 1.74	$ 1.39	$ 1.11	$ 15.40	$ 7.45	$ 5.22

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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+ Details

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Statement of Other Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Consolidated net income	$ 3,676	$ 1,992	$ 1,506
Foreign currency translation adjustment	0	2	(1)
Consolidated comprehensive income	3,676	1,994	1,505
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(454)	(324)	(276)
Comprehensive income attributable to Charter shareholders	$ 3,222	$ 1,670	$ 1,229

- Definition

The consolidated profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest.

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+ Details

Related Party Transactions (Details) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Related Party Transactions:
A/N’s share of the tax benefit realized by Charter pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement (percentage)	50.00%
Dr. John Malone's voting interest in Liberty Broadband (percentage)	45.80%
Dr. John Malone's voting interest in Qurate Retail, Inc. (percentage)	40.90%
Cash payments received from HSN, Inc. and QVC, Inc.	$ 50	$ 50	$ 73
Dr. John Malone's voting interest in Discovery Communications, Inc. for election of directors (percentage)	27.90%
Advance Newhouse Programming Partnership's ownership percentage in Series A preferred stock of Discovery Communications, Inc. (percentage)	100.00%
Advance Newhouse Programming Partnership's ownership percentage in Series C preferred stock of Discovery Communications, Inc. (percentage)	100.00%
Advance Newhouse Programming Partnership's voting interest in Discovery Communications, Inc. for election of directors	23.90%
Maximum
Related Party Transactions:
Percent of total operating costs and expenses paid to Discovery Communications, Inc. and Starz (percentage)	2.00%	2.00%	2.00%
Equity Method Investee [Member]
Related Party Transactions:
Payments to related parties	$ 225	$ 314	$ 361
Class A Common Stock
Related Party Transactions:
Number of shares owned by Dr. John Malone in Qurate Retail, Inc.	1.2
Dr. John Malone's ownership percentage in Discovery Communications, Inc. (percentage)	1.20%
Class B Common Stock
Related Party Transactions:
Number of shares owned by Dr. John Malone in Qurate Retail, Inc.	27.7
Dr. John Malone's ownership percentage in Discovery Communications, Inc. (percentage)	93.60%
Class C Common Stock
Related Party Transactions:
Dr. John Malone's ownership percentage in Discovery Communications, Inc. (percentage)	3.60%

Commitments and Contingencies (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Contractual Obligations
Total contractual obligations future minimum payments	$ 15,481
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2021	5,292
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2022	942
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2023	812
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2024	566
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2025	580
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, thereafter	7,289
Programming costs	11,401	$ 11,290	$ 11,124
Utility pole rental fees	192	180	171
Franchise fees and other franchise-related costs	741	$ 750	$ 747
Letters of credit outstanding	367
Letters of credit outstanding secured under the Charter Operating credit facility	41
Pension plan contributions	3
Monetary damages sought by plaintiff	140
Litigation Settlement Interest	10
Litigation Settlement Costs	1
Programming Minimum Commitments (a)
Contractual Obligations
Total contractual obligations future minimum payments	164
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2021	130
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2022	22
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2023	12
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2024	0
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2025	0
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, thereafter	0
Other (b)
Contractual Obligations
Total contractual obligations future minimum payments	15,317
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2021	5,162
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2022	920
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2023	800
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2024	566
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, 2025	580
Contractual obligations future minimum payments, thereafter	$ 7,289
Minimum
Contractual Obligations
Programming fee term	3 years
Maximum
Contractual Obligations
Programming fee term	10 years

Employee Benefit Plans (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Employee Benefit Plans (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Change in Benefit Obligation [Roll Forward]
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$ 3,688	$ 3,361	$ 3,041
Interest cost		110	129	$ 128
Actuarial loss		436	499
Settlement		(166)	(257)
Benefits paid		(53)	(51)
Projected benefit obligation at end of year (a)		3,688	3,361	3,041
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	3,462	3,198	2,943
Actual return on plan assets		480	559
Employer contributions		3	4
Settlement		(166)	(257)
Benefits paid		(53)	(51)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year (b)		3,462	3,198	2,943
Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year (a)					$ 3,688	$ 3,361
Funded status					(226)	(163)
Noncurrent asset					1	1
Current liability					(5)	(4)
Long-term liability					(222)	(160)
Net amounts recognized in consolidated balance sheet					$ (226)	$ (163)
Expected return on plan assets		156	164	198
Remeasurement gain (loss)		(112)	(104)	122
Net periodic pension benefit (cost)		$ (66)	$ (69)	$ 192
Discount rate assumption used to calculate benefit obligation (percentage)					2.70%	3.48%
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets		5.00%	5.75%	5.75%
Discount rate		3.48%	4.37%	4.24%
Total fair value of investment plan assets					$ 2,886	$ 2,613
Accrued investment income and other receivables					19	1
Fair value of plan assets	3,462	$ 3,462	$ 2,943	$ 2,943	3,462	3,198
Pension plan expected future benefit payments, 2021					268
Pension plan expected future benefit payments, 2022					249
Pension plan expected future benefit payments, 2023					236
Pension plan expected future benefit payments, 2024					223
Pension plan expected future benefit payments, 2025					211
Pension plan expected future benefit payments, thereafter					929
Employer contributions to multiemployer plans		7	9	9
Withdrawal liability from multiemployer pension plan					98	101
Level 1
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Total fair value of investment plan assets					4	4
Level 2
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Total fair value of investment plan assets					2,882	2,609
Fair Value Measured at Net Asset Value Per Share
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Total fair value of investment plan assets					$ 557	$ 584
Return-seeking securities
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Target Allocation					60.00%	60.00%
Actual Allocation					57.10%	56.20%
Liability-matching securities
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Target Allocation					40.00%	40.00%
Actual Allocation					42.80%	43.70%
Other investments
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Target Allocation					0.00%	0.00%
Actual Allocation					0.10%	0.10%
Cash
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					$ 4	$ 4
Cash \| Level 1
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					4	4
Cash \| Level 2
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					0	0
Commingled bond funds(a)
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					1,449	1,335
Commingled bond funds(a) \| Level 1
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					0	0
Commingled bond funds(a) \| Level 2
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					1,449	1,335
Commingled equity funds(a)
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					1,255	1,135
Commingled equity funds(a) \| Level 1
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					0	0
Commingled equity funds(a) \| Level 2
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					1,255	1,135
Collective trust funds(b)
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					178	139
Collective trust funds(b) \| Level 1
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					0	0
Collective trust funds(b) \| Level 2
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					178	139
Alternative funds(a) \| Fair Value Measured at Net Asset Value Per Share
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					283	271
Fixed income funds(b) \| Fair Value Measured at Net Asset Value Per Share
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					148	177
Real estate funds(c) \| Fair Value Measured at Net Asset Value Per Share
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Pension plan investment assets					126	136
Qualified Plan
Change in Benefit Obligation [Roll Forward]
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	3,700	3,300
Projected benefit obligation at end of year (a)		3,700	3,300
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year (a)					3,700	3,300
Nonqualified Plan
Change in Benefit Obligation [Roll Forward]
Projected benefit obligation at beginning of year	$ 36	35
Projected benefit obligation at end of year (a)		$ 36	35
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Accumulated benefit obligation at end of year (a)					$ 36	$ 35
Subsequent Event
Change in Fair Value of Plan Assets [Roll Forward]
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets	5.00%
Discount rate	2.70%
401(k) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined contribution plan, maximum annual contributions per employee (percentage)		50.00%
Defined contribution plan, employer matching contribution (percentage)		100.00%
Defined contribution plan, employer matching contribution percent of employees' gross pay (percentage)		6.00%
Defined contribution plan, employer's contributions		$ 331	303	290
Retirement Accumulation Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined contribution plan, employer's contributions		$ 162	$ 152	$ 151
Defined contribution plan, employer's contribution percent of employees' eligible pay (percentage)		3.00%

Recently Issued Accounting Standards (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Accounting Standards Update 2014-09
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
New Accounting Pronouncement, Effect of Adoption on Total Shareholders' Equity	$ 38
Accounting Standards Update 2016-16
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
New Accounting Pronouncement, Effect of Adoption on Total Shareholders' Equity	$ 31

Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 12,624	$ 12,039	$ 11,696	$ 11,738	$ 11,761	$ 11,450	$ 11,347	$ 11,206	$ 48,097	$ 45,764	$ 43,634
Income from operations	2,462	2,172	1,969	1,802	1,959	1,586	1,541	1,425	8,405	6,511	5,221
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders	$ 1,246	$ 814	$ 766	$ 396	$ 714	$ 387	$ 314	$ 253	$ 3,222	$ 1,668	$ 1,230
Earnings per common share, basic	$ 6.33	$ 4.01	$ 3.72	$ 1.91	$ 3.36	$ 1.77	$ 1.41	$ 1.13	$ 15.85	$ 7.60	$ 5.29
Earnings per common share, diluted	$ 6.05	$ 3.90	$ 3.63	$ 1.86	$ 3.28	$ 1.74	$ 1.39	$ 1.11	$ 15.40	$ 7.45	$ 5.22
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic (in shares)	196,906,511	202,826,502	205,777,438	207,831,305	212,648,072	218,499,213	222,392,274	224,630,122	203,316,483	219,506,735	232,356,665
Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted (in shares)	212,077,917	208,722,129	210,906,946	212,810,613	217,778,099	222,355,867	225,942,172	227,595,365	209,273,247	223,786,380	235,525,226

- Definition

The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Parent Company Only Condensed Balance Sheets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
ASSETS
Accounts receivable, net	$ 2,201	$ 2,227
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	707	761
Other noncurrent assets	3,449	2,731
Total assets	144,206	148,188
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities	9,875	12,385
Deferred income taxes	18,108	17,711
Other long-term liabilities	4,198	3,703
Shareholder's equity	23,805	31,445
Total liabilities and shareholder's equity	144,206	148,188
Parent Company [Member]
ASSETS
Accounts receivable, net	1	1
Receivables from related party	28	34
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	20	10
Investment in subsidiaries	41,813	49,024
Loans receivable - related party	275	260
Other noncurrent assets	1	2
Total assets	42,138	49,331
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities	22	18
Deferred income taxes	18,030	17,641
Other long-term liabilities	281	227
Shareholder's equity	23,805	31,445
Total liabilities and shareholder's equity	$ 42,138	$ 49,331

Parent Company Only Condensed Statements of Operations (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
INCOME
Revenues	$ 12,624	$ 12,039	$ 11,696	$ 11,738	$ 11,761	$ 11,450	$ 11,347	$ 11,206	$ 48,097	$ 45,764	$ 43,634
Interest income									(3,848)	(3,797)	(3,540)
EXPENSES
Operating costs and expenses									29,930	29,224	27,860
Income before income taxes									4,302	2,431	1,686
Income tax expense									(626)	(439)	(180)
Net income	$ 1,246	$ 814	$ 766	$ 396	$ 714	$ 387	$ 314	$ 253	3,222	1,668	1,230
Parent Company [Member]
INCOME
Revenues									64	52	46
Interest income									12	10	9
Equity in income of subsidiaries									3,771	1,998	1,377
Total Income									3,847	2,060	1,432
EXPENSES
Operating costs and expenses									64	52	46
Income before income taxes									3,783	2,008	1,386
Income tax expense									(561)	(340)	(156)
Net income									$ 3,222	$ 1,668	$ 1,230

Parent Company Only Condensed Statements of Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Net income	$ 1,246	$ 814	$ 766	$ 396	$ 714	$ 387	$ 314	$ 253	$ 3,222	$ 1,668	$ 1,230
Foreign currency translation adjustment									0	2	(1)
Comprehensive income									3,222	1,670	1,229
Parent Company [Member]
Net income									3,222	1,668	1,230
Foreign currency translation adjustment									0	2	(1)
Comprehensive income									$ 3,222	$ 1,670	$ 1,229

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

Parent Company Only Condensed Consolidating Statements of Cash Flows (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
NET CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	$ 14,562	$ 11,748	$ 11,767
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Net cash flows from investing activities	(8,157)	(7,331)	(9,736)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	184	118	69
Issuance of equity	23	0	0
Purchase of treasury stock	(11,217)	(6,873)	(4,399)
Repayments of loans payable - related parties	(1)	0	(12)
Net cash flows from financing activities	(8,953)	(1,633)	(1,887)
NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	(2,548)	2,784	144
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	1,001	3,549	765	$ 621
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	1,001	3,549	765	621
Parent Company [Member]
NET CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	(49)	(36)	(10)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Contribution to subsidiaries	(208)	(119)	(69)
Distributions from subsidiaries	11,268	6,910	4,421
Net cash flows from investing activities	11,060	6,791	4,352
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	184	118	69
Issuance of equity	23	0	0
Purchase of treasury stock	(11,217)	(6,873)	(4,399)
Net cash flows from financing activities	(11,011)	(6,755)	(4,342)
NET INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS	0	0	0
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of period	0	0	0	0
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of period	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0