Charter Communications’ Spectrum Business said it made a deal with EverPass Media that will bring NFL Sunday Ticket and Peacock Sports Pass to bars, restaurants and other businesses in the 41-state footprint served by Spectrum.

Spectrum also said it will again carry Thursday Night Football for Spectrum Business customers this season.

In addition Spectrum is introducing a new Spectrum Business Sports Fan TV package consisting of more than 40 live and local sports channels that will be available to new business customers for an introductory price of $79.99 a month, or $59.99 a month when bundled with another Spectrum service for 12 months.

“We know how important it is for small business customers to have access to a broad portfolio of sports content so their patrons can watch all their favorite live events,” said Tom Montemagno, executive VP, programming acquisition for Charter, which operates the Spectrum brand of connectivity services. “The combination of NFL Sunday Ticket and Peacock Sports Pass via EverPass and our new Sports Fan TV tier means we can offer businesses a sports solution that includes almost all NFL games, college football, and professional basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer and more.”

EverPass was founded in 2023 in partnership with RedBird Capital Partners and 32 Equity, the strategic investment arm of the NFL. TKO Group Holdings, parent company of UFC and WWE, joined as an investor in 2024.

“We are thrilled to partner with Spectrum Business as our first official channel partner,” EverPass CEO Alex Kaplan said.

“EverPass was founded with the goal of innovating the out-of-home sports and entertainment viewing experience while also empowering business owners to have complete control of the content their customers desire,” Kaplan said. “This strategic relationship allows us to tap into Spectrum Business’ extensive network and expand access to NFL Sunday Ticket and Peacock Sports Pass for commercial establishments, further positioning EverPass as the preeminent live sports and entertainment content platform for businesses across the U.S.”

Charter Communications launched a new campaign for its Spectrum Business unit aimed at convincing small businesses to switch to the cable operator’s internet, phone, mobile and TV bundle.

The campaign uses the slogan “Made To Work” to show how small businesses benefit from more reliable connectivity.

“Small business owners overcome many obstacles every day, and reliable connectivity has become a critical tool to help power their resilience,” Sharon Peters, executive VP and chief marketing officer for Charter, said. “Spectrum Business is committed to seamlessly connecting all aspects of our customers’ business with fast, easy-to-use, ultra-reliable internet, phone, mobile and video solutions. Whether it’s a home-based business, retail store, restaurant, bar or service firm, our services are ‘Made to Work’ so owners can stay connected and focus on running their businesses.”

In addition to broadcast-TV commercials running in all of the 41 markets served by Charter, the campaign uses radio, direct mail, digital and social media. 

Spectrum Business offers small and midsized business a bundle of products including Spectrum Business Internet, Spectrum Business Connect with RingCentral, Spectrum Business Voice and Spectrum Mobile for Business.

Charter Communications' Spectrum Business has formed a partnership with SCORE, the country's largest network of business mentors, to sponsor a series of free webinars for business owners and entrepreneurs beginning April 23.

The two-hour webinars are open to Spectrum Business customers and non-customers, are led by an expert from SCORE and focus on how to set up, run and grow a small business. The webinars will run through June 28. 

“Our goal is to help small businesses grow and thrive in the communities Spectrum services,” Jennifer Ingram, Charter VP for small and medium business, said in a press release. “For new business owners, these free workshops are the perfect opportunity to gain insights from SCORE experts with real-world experience about how to establish and run a successful small business, and for established owners to learn how to grow their existing businesses and boost overall productivity.”

Also Read: Charter Reaches $18 Per Hour Minimum Wage Milestone

Registration for the webinar series, including the Friday, April 23, session, “Why a Business Plan is Critical (and How to Create it),” is open here. Additional webinars will cover how to fund a new business, market a business on a shoestring budget, and how to price products and services effectively. 

The SCORE webinars are available at no cost through a sponsorship from Spectrum Business, and participants may sign up for as many webinars as they want.

“SCORE understands how challenging the past year has been for small business owners, and we are proud to partner with Spectrum Business to offer this valuable webinar series,” SCORE CEO Bridget Weston said in the press release. “Since our founding in 1964, SCORE has helped 11 million entrepreneurs to start, grow or troubleshoot a business. Our 10,000 volunteer mentors have firsthand business expertise that they are eager to share with other entrepreneurs. We are here to help small businesses succeed.”

Also Read: Charter Launches $5 Billion, Multi-Year Plan to Expand Broadband to 1 Million New Homes

The full schedule of webinars is:

· “Why a Business Plan is Critical (and How to Create it),” Friday, April 23, 2 p.m. ET.

· “Why You Shouldn’t Go It Alone: Legal, Accounting and Insurance for Your Business,” Monday, May 10, 2 p.m. ET.

· “Creative Marketing on a Shoestring Budget,” Monday, May 24, 2 p.m. ET.

· “Managing Funds and Funding in 2021,” Friday, June 11, 2 p.m. ET.

· “Panel Discussion: Navigating these Uncertain Times,” Friday, June 18, 2 p.m. ET.

· “Successful Small Business Pricing Strategies,” Monday, June 28, 2 p.m. ET.

Information about how to register is available here.

Charter Communications is offering new small and medium-sized business customers in its service territory free access to its Spectrum Business phone, internet and television services for one month as states across the country begin to lift gathering restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press release, Charter said the offer is mainly aimed at small businesses like local coffee shops, restaurants, fitness clubs and retailers as they begin to reopen their businesses.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy and will be leading America’s economic recovery in the weeks and months ahead,” Charter EVP and chief marketing officer Jonathan Hargis said in a press release. “Just as small businesses serve their local communities, we are proud to play a role in supporting their connectivity needs with our advanced broadband internet, phone and TV services.”

Charter said its free Spectrum Business offering is available throughout its 41-state footprint and aligned with state timelines to resume business operations. Some restrictions apply and more information is available here. 

In the past, Charter has launched new online resources to help business owners navigate federal loan and subsidy programs and provided tools to more efficiently use Spectrum services, at no additional cost. Additionally, the company’s advertising sales business, Spectrum Reach, partnered with Waymark, a production technology company that offers free access to a unique video content tool that small businesses can use to make a video on their own.

Spectrum Business Enterprise Solutions, the commercial services unit of Charter Communications, said it has achieved Carrier Ethernet 2.0  certification from the Metro Ethernet Forum.

The achievement, also achieved by fellow operators such as Cox Communications, RCN, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, ensures that Spectrum Business Enterprise Solutions is up to snuff on 2.0 attributes in areas of standards, scalability, reliability, quality of service and service management.

Spectrum Business Enterprise Solutions said it has nearly 100 Carrier Ethernet Certified Professionals (MEF-CECP), an expert-level certification offered by the Metro Ethernet Forum to individuals.

"Achieving MEF 2.0 certification is an essential proof point for Spectrum Business carrier-class Ethernet services," said Cynthia Carpenter, vice president of commercial product management for Charter, in a statement.  "We are proud to have attained this important certification and look forward to continually serving business customers with enterprise-grade network and communications services."

As of mid-2015, Charter was in the “Challenge Tier” of Vertical Systems Group’s U.S. Carrier Ethernet Leaderboard, which designates providers that have between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market. Others in that group include Bright House Networks, Cogent, Lightpath (Cablevision Systems),  Windstream and Zayo.

AT&T topped all providers as of mid-2015, followed by Level 3 Communications, Verizon Communications, CenturyLink, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, XO and Cox.

Charter will move up substantially following its proposed acquisitions of TWC and  Bright House.

Amid a rebranding effort occurring on the residential side of the house, Charter Communications on Monday announced that Charter Business has been recast as Spectrum Business, a unit that offers a range of broadband, voice and video services to commercial customers.

Last month during the MSO’s fourth quarter earnings call, Charter president and CEO Tom Rutledge noted that the company was in the process of separating its business services operations into two groups – one focused on small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), and another that targets larger enterprise customers. That operational resembles shares similarities with that of Cablevision Systems, which relies on its Lightpath unit to server enterprise customers via its fiber-based Ethernet platform, and Optimum Business to serve SMBs over the MSO’s HFC network.  

A Charter official confirmed that the SMB-focused portion of Spectrum Business unit will report into cable operations that’s led by Charter COO John Bickham, while Don Detampel, Charter’s EVP and president of commercial services, leads up the side concentrating on larger businesses and carrier customers that require fiber and more complex services.

Charter announced that new operational model internally last November, according to a memo obtained by Multichannel News.

“Charter Business has experienced strong growth over the past four years, yet the commercial revenue opportunity remains largely under penetrated across all customer segments,” the memo explained, noting that the commercial operations will be separated into two units – Spectrum Business and Spectrum Enterprise. “Today we are announcing a new commercial operating model that we believe will help accelerate our commercial growth and more aggressively drive market penetration. This new organizational structure will help define the organizational structure in the ‘New Charter’ post transaction." 

Charter pulled in $262 million in business services revenues in the fourth quarter of 2014, a 16.1% increase versus the year-earlier quarter.