10-Q

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☑ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____ to _____

Commission File Number: 001-36863

Cable One, Inc. 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	13-3060083
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
210 E. Earll Drive, Phoenix, Arizona	85012
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

(602) 364-6000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01	CABO	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☑	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock as of the latest practicable date:

Description of Class	Shares Outstanding as of April 29, 2022
Common stock, par value $0.01	5,992,786

CABLE ONE, INC.

FORM 10-Q

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I:  FINANCIAL INFORMATION		1
Item 1.	Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements	1
Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	23
Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	34
Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	34
PART II: OTHER INFORMATION		35
Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	35
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	35
Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	35
Item 3.	Defaults Upon Senior Securities	35
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	35
Item 5.	Other Information	35
Item 6.	Exhibits	36
SIGNATURES		37

References herein to “Cable One,” “us,” “our,” “we” or the “Company” refer to Cable One, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries.

i

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about our industry, business, strategy, acquisitions and strategic investments, dividend policy, financial results and financial condition. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “will,” “should,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes” and words and terms of similar substance in connection with discussions of future operating or financial performance. As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Our actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements include government regulation, economic, strategic, political and social conditions and the following factors, which are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “2021 Form 10-K”):

● the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows;

● rising levels of competition from historical and new entrants in our markets;

● recent and future changes in technology;

● our ability to continue to grow our business services products;

● increases in programming costs and retransmission fees;

● our ability to obtain hardware, software and operational support from vendors;

● risks that we may fail to realize the benefits anticipated as a result of our purchase of the remaining interests in Hargray Acquisition Holdings, LLC (“Hargray”) that we did not already own (the “Hargray Acquisition”);

● risks relating to existing or future acquisitions and strategic investments by us;

● risks that the implementation of our new enterprise resource planning system disrupts business operations;

● the integrity and security of our network and information systems;

● the impact of possible security breaches and other disruptions, including cyber-attacks;

● our failure to obtain necessary intellectual and proprietary rights to operate our business and the risk of intellectual property claims and litigation against us;

● legislative or regulatory efforts to impose network neutrality and other new requirements on our data services;

● additional regulation of our video and voice services;

● our ability to renew cable system franchises;

● increases in pole attachment costs;

● changes in local governmental franchising authority and broadcast carriage regulations;

● the potential adverse effect of our level of indebtedness on our business, financial condition or results of operations and cash flows;

● the restrictions the terms of our indebtedness place on our business and corporate actions;

● the possibility that interest rates will rise, causing our obligations to service our variable rate indebtedness to increase significantly;

● the transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and the adoption of alternative reference rates;

● risks associated with our convertible indebtedness;

● our ability to continue to pay dividends;

● provisions in our charter, by-laws and Delaware law that could discourage takeovers and limit the judicial forum for certain disputes;

● adverse economic conditions, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and changes in rates of inflation;

● lower demand for our residential data and business services;

● fluctuations in our stock price;

● dilution from equity awards, convertible indebtedness and potential future convertible debt and stock issuances;

● damage to our reputation or brand image;

● our ability to retain key employees (whom we refer to as associates);

● our ability to incur future indebtedness;

● provisions in our charter that could limit the liabilities for directors; and

● the other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including but not limited to those described under "Risk Factors" in our 2021 Form 10-K.

Any forward-looking statements made by us in this document speak only as of the date on which they are made. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, except as required by law, to update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

ii

PART I:  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.     CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CABLE ONE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(dollars in thousands, except par values)	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Assets
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	368,166		$	388,802
Accounts receivable, net		50,146			56,253
Income taxes receivable		8,051			24,193
Prepaid and other current assets		41,015			31,705
Total Current Assets		467,378			500,953
Equity investments		1,177,332			727,565
Property, plant and equipment, net		1,602,493			1,854,104
Intangible assets, net		2,744,906			2,861,137
Goodwill		927,981			967,913
Other noncurrent assets		39,330			42,322
Total Assets	$	6,959,420		$	6,953,994
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	182,251		$	203,387
Deferred revenue		23,956			26,851
Current portion of long-term debt		43,105			38,837
Total Current Liabilities		249,312			269,075
Long-term debt		3,788,764			3,799,500
Deferred income taxes		896,374			854,156
Interest rate swap liability		21,390			81,627
Other noncurrent liabilities		67,433			156,541
Total Liabilities		5,023,273			5,160,899
Commitments and contingencies (refer to note 16)
Stockholders' Equity
Preferred stock ($0.01 par value; 4,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding)		-			-
Common stock ($0.01 par value; 40,000,000 shares authorized; 6,175,399 shares issued; and 6,011,790 and 6,046,362 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively)		62			62
Additional paid-in capital		560,845			555,640
Retained earnings		1,611,357			1,456,543
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(25,391	)		(82,795	)
Treasury stock, at cost (163,609 and 129,037 shares held as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively)		(210,726	)		(136,355	)
Total Stockholders' Equity		1,936,147			1,793,095
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	$	6,959,420		$	6,953,994

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

1

CABLE ONE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)	2022			2021
Revenues	$	426,726		$	341,262
Costs and Expenses:
Operating (excluding depreciation and amortization)		119,421			101,464
Selling, general and administrative		87,766			69,042
Depreciation and amortization		87,919			68,530
(Gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, net		2,490			(120	)
(Gain) loss on sale of business		(22,087	)		-
Total Costs and Expenses		275,509			238,916
Income from operations		151,217			102,346
Interest expense		(30,080	)		(23,581	)
Other income (expense), net		88,060			8,100
Income before income taxes and equity method investment income (loss), net		209,197			86,865
Income tax provision		41,501			17,715
Income before equity method investment income (loss), net		167,696			69,150
Equity method investment income (loss), net		3,780			(568	)
Net income	$	171,476		$	68,582
Net Income per Common Share
Basic	$	28.49		$	11.41
Diluted	$	26.85		$	11.19
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding:
Basic		6,018,881			6,012,402
Diluted		6,444,963			6,168,261
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax	$	57,404		$	55,467
Comprehensive income	$	228,880		$	124,049

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

2

CABLE ONE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(Unaudited)

						Additional					Accumulated Other			Treasury			Total
	Common Stock					Paid-In		Retained			Comprehensive			Stock,			Stockholders’
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)	Shares			Amount		Capital		Earnings			Loss			at cost			Equity
Balance at December 31, 2021		6,046,362		$	62	$	555,640	$	1,456,543		$	(82,795	)	$	(136,355	)	$	1,793,095
Net income		-			-		-		171,476			-			-			171,476
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax		-			-		-		-			57,404			-			57,404
Equity-based compensation		-			-		5,205		-			-			-			5,205
Issuance of equity awards, net of forfeitures		15,909			-		-		-			-			-			-
Repurchases of common stock		(47,800	)		-		-		-			-			(69,695	)		(69,695	)
Withholding tax for equity awards		(2,681	)		-		-		-			-			(4,676	)		(4,676	)
Dividends paid to stockholders ($2.75 per common share)		-			-		-		(16,662	)		-			-			(16,662	)
Balance at March 31, 2022		6,011,790		$	62	$	560,845	$	1,611,357		$	(25,391	)	$	(210,726	)	$	1,936,147

						Additional					Accumulated Other			Treasury			Total
	Common Stock					Paid-In		Retained			Comprehensive			Stock,			Stockholders’
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)	Shares			Amount		Capital		Earnings			Loss			at cost			Equity
Balance at December 31, 2020		6,027,704		$	62	$	535,586	$	1,228,172		$	(140,683	)	$	(127,838	)	$	1,495,299
Net income		-			-		-		68,582			-			-			68,582
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax		-			-		-		-			55,467			-			55,467
Equity-based compensation		-			-		4,127		-			-			-			4,127
Issuance of equity awards, net of forfeitures		10,398			-		-		-			-			-			-
Withholding tax for equity awards		(3,493	)		-		-		-			-			(7,741	)		(7,741	)
Dividends paid to stockholders ($2.50 per common share)		-			-		-		(15,087	)		-			-			(15,087	)
Balance at March 31, 2021		6,034,609		$	62	$	539,713	$	1,281,667		$	(85,216	)	$	(135,579	)	$	1,600,647

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

3

CABLE ONE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands)	2022			2021
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	171,476		$	68,582
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		87,919			68,530
Non-cash interest expense		2,373			1,432
Equity-based compensation		5,205			4,127
Write-off of debt issuance costs		-			487
Change in deferred income taxes		23,788			7,131
(Gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, net		2,490			(120	)
Gain on sale of business		(22,087	)		-
Equity method investment (income) loss, net		(3,780	)		568
Fair value adjustments		(84,735	)		(5,560	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net		3,289			8,416
Income taxes receivable		16,142			26,132
Prepaid and other current assets		(13,408	)		(12,348	)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		(447	)		(3,042	)
Deferred revenue		(115	)		2,568
Other		609			(2,910	)
Net cash provided by operating activities		188,719			163,993
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash paid for debt and equity investments		(10,673	)		-
Capital expenditures		(99,448	)		(71,853	)
Change in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures		225			5,004
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment		250			151
Net cash used in investing activities		(109,646	)		(66,698	)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt borrowings		-			895,850
Payment of debt issuance costs		-			(1,291	)
Payments on long-term debt		(8,676	)		(6,637	)
Repurchases of common stock		(69,695	)		-
Payment of withholding tax for equity awards		(4,676	)		(7,741	)
Dividends paid to stockholders		(16,662	)		(15,087	)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		(99,709	)		865,094
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		(20,636	)		962,389
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		388,802			574,909
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	368,166		$	1,537,298
Supplemental cash flow disclosures:
Cash paid for interest, net of capitalized interest	$	22,393		$	15,118
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received	$	(42	)	$	(15,586	)

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

4

CABLE ONE, INC.

NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

1.      DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Description of Business. Cable One is a fully integrated provider of data, video and voice services to residential and business customers in 24 Western, Midwestern and Southern U.S. states. Cable One provided service to approximately 1.1 million residential and business customers, of which approximately 1,057,000 subscribed to data services, 238,000 subscribed to video services and 143,000 subscribed to voice services, as of March 31, 2022.

On October 1, 2020, the Company contributed its Anniston, Alabama system (the “Anniston System”) to Hargray in exchange for an approximately 15% equity interest in Hargray on a fully diluted basis (the “Anniston Exchange”). On May 3, 2021, the Company acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that it did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price, which implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The all-cash transaction was funded through a combination of cash on hand and proceeds from new indebtedness. Refer to note 2 for further details on this transaction.

On  December 30, 2021, the Company acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities from Cable America Missouri, LLC, a data, video and voice services provider in central Missouri ("CableAmerica"), for $113.1 million in cash on a debt-free basis. The all-cash transaction was financed with cash on hand. Refer to note 2 for further details on this transaction.

On  January 1, 2022, the Company closed a joint venture transaction in which the Company contributed certain fiber operations (including certain fiber assets of Hargray and a majority of the operations of Delta Communications, L.L.C. ("Clearwave")) (the "Clearwave Fiber Contribution") and certain unaffiliated third-party investors contributed cash to a newly formed entity, Clearwave Fiber LLC ("Clearwave Fiber"). The operations contributed by the Company generated approximately 3% of Cable One's consolidated revenues for the three months ended  December 31, 2021. The Company's approximately 58% investment in Clearwave Fiber was valued at $440.0 million as of the closing date. Clearwave Fiber is intended to accelerate deployment of fiber internet to residents and businesses in existing markets and near-adjacent areas, as well as to provide connectivity to unserved and underserved areas in such markets via fiber-to-the-premises service. Clearwave Fiber is reported on Cable One’s balance sheet under the equity method of accounting, with the proportionate share of its net income (loss) each period reflected within Cable One's operating results on a one quarter lag. Refer to note 5 for further details on this transaction and on the Company’s other equity investments.

Basis of Presentation. The condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto have been prepared in accordance with: (i) generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information; and (ii) the guidance of Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), for financial statements required to be filed with the SEC. As permitted under such guidance, certain notes and other financial information normally required by GAAP have been omitted. Management believes the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all normal and recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented herein. These condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the 2021 Form 10-K.

The December 31, 2021 year-end balance sheet data presented herein was derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2021 Form 10-K, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The Company’s interim results of operations may not be indicative of its future results.

Principles of Consolidation. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, including its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Reporting. Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 280 - Segment Reporting requires the disclosure of factors used to identify an entity’s reportable segments. Based on the Company’s chief operating decision maker’s review and assessment of the Company’s operating performance for purposes of performance monitoring and resource allocation, the Company determined that its operations, including the decisions to allocate resources and deploy capital, are organized and managed on a consolidated basis. Accordingly, management has identified one operating segment, which is its reportable segment, under this organizational and reporting structure.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported herein. Management bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in future periods may be affected by changes in those estimates and underlying assumptions.

5

 

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In  November 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2021-10, Government Assistance (Topic 832): Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance. ASU 2021-10 requires additional disclosure around the type of any government assistance received and its impact on the consolidated financial statements. The Company adopted the updated guidance in the first quarter of 2022. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In  October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2021-08 requires entities to apply existing revenue recognition guidance when recognizing and measuring contract assets acquired and contract liabilities assumed in a business combination. The Company adopted the updated guidance in the first quarter of 2022. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued But Not Yet Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. ASU 2020-04 provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference LIBOR and other reference rates that are to be discontinued. The ASU may be adopted at any time through December 31, 2022. The Company currently holds certain debt and interest rate swaps that reference LIBOR. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2020-04 when the contracts underlying such instruments are amended as a result of reference rate reform. The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

2.      ACQUISITIONS

The Company accounts for certain acquisitions as business combinations pursuant to ASC 805. In accordance with ASC 805, the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to assign fair value to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date based on the information that is available as of the acquisition date. The Company believes that the information available provides a reasonable basis for estimating the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed for each acquisition, however, preliminary measurements of fair value for each acquisition are subject to change during the measurement period, and such changes could be material. The Company expects to finalize the valuation after each acquisition as soon as practicable but no later than one year after the acquisition date.

Goodwill is calculated as the excess of the consideration transferred over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired in a business combination and represents the future economic benefits expected to arise from anticipated synergies and intangible assets that do not qualify for separate recognition, including an assembled workforce, noncontractual relationships and other agreements. As an indefinite-lived asset, goodwill is not amortized but rather is subject to impairment testing on at least an annual basis.

Acquisition costs incurred by the Company are not included as components of consideration transferred and instead are accounted for as expenses in the period in which the costs are incurred. The Company incurred $1.3 million and $4.4 million of acquisition costs during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. These costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses within the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

The following acquisitions occurred during the periods presented:

CableAmerica. On  December 30, 2021, the Company acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of CableAmerica, a data, video and voice services provider in central Missouri, for a preliminary purchase price of $113.1 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

Acquired identifiable intangible assets associated with the CableAmerica acquisition consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

			Useful Life
	Fair Value		(in years)
Customer relationships	$	15,400		14.0
Trademark and trade name	$	500		3.0
Franchise agreements	$	49,600	Indefinite

Customer relationships and franchise agreements were valued using the multi-period excess earnings method (“MPEEM”) of the income approach. Significant assumptions used in the valuations include projected revenue growth rates, customer attrition rates, future earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA” and as adjusted, “Adjusted EBITDA”) margins, future capital expenditures and appropriate discount rates. No residual value was assigned to the acquired customer relationships, trademark and trade name or franchise agreements. The customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated basis commensurate with future anticipated cash flows. The trademark and trade name are amortized on a straight-line basis. The total weighted average amortization period for the acquired finite-lived intangible assets is 13.7 years.

The CableAmerica acquisition resulted in the recognition of $25.6 million of goodwill, which is deductible for tax purposes.

6

 

Hargray. On May 3, 2021, the Company acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray, a data, video and voice services provider, that it did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price, which implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis. 

The following table summarizes the allocation of the Hargray purchase price consideration as of the acquisition date, reflecting immaterial measurement period adjustments (in thousands):

	Initial Purchase Price Allocation		Measurement Period Adjustments			Purchase Price Allocation
Assets Acquired
Cash and cash equivalents	$	17,652	$	-		$	17,652
Accounts receivable		17,991		(62	)		17,929
Income taxes receivable		-		720			720
Prepaid and other current assets		8,006		-			8,006
Property, plant and equipment		457,158		(525	)		456,633
Intangible assets		1,592,000		-			1,592,000
Other noncurrent assets		4,636		2,940			7,576
Total Assets Acquired		2,097,443		3,073			2,100,516
Liabilities Assumed
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		36,457		1,770			38,227
Deferred revenue (short-term portion)		8,462		-			8,462
Current portion of long-term debt		1,375		(1,375	)		-
Long-term debt		2,912		(2,912	)		-
Deferred income taxes		437,725		923			438,648
Other noncurrent liabilities		6,974		2,912			9,886
Total Liabilities Assumed		493,905		1,318			495,223
Net assets acquired		1,603,538		1,755			1,605,293
Purchase price consideration(1)		2,117,866		(756	)		2,117,110
Goodwill recognized	$	514,328	$	(2,511	)	$	511,817

⁽¹⁾ Consists of approximately $2.0 billion of cash for the additional approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that the Company did not already own and the $146.6 million May 3, 2021 fair value of the Company’s existing approximately 15% equity investment in Hargray. The Company recognized a $33.4 million non-cash gain within other income in the condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income upon the acquisition, representing the difference between the existing equity investment’s fair value and $113.2 million carrying value. The fair value of the existing investment was calculated as approximately 15% of the fair value of Hargray’s total equity value (determined using the discounted cash flow method of the income approach, less debt), excluding the impact of any synergies or control premium that would be realized by a controlling interest.

Acquired identifiable intangible assets associated with the Hargray Acquisition consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

			Useful Life
	Fair Value		(in years)
Customer relationships	$	472,000		13.7
Trademark and trade name	$	10,000		4.2
Franchise agreements	$	1,110,000	Indefinite

Customer relationships and franchise agreements were valued using the MPEEM of the income approach. Significant assumptions used in the valuations include projected revenue growth rates, customer attrition rates, future EBITDA margins, future capital expenditures and appropriate discount rates. No residual value was assigned to the acquired customer relationships, trademark and trade name or franchise agreements. The customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated basis commensurate with future anticipated cash flows. The trademark and trade name are amortized on a straight-line basis. The total weighted average amortization period for the acquired finite-lived intangible assets is 13.5 years.

The Hargray Acquisition resulted in the recognition of $511.8 million of goodwill, which is not deductible for tax purposes.

7

 

3.      REVENUES

Revenues by product line and other revenue-related disclosures were as follows (in thousands):   

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2022		2021
Residential:
Data	$	230,153	$	183,605
Video		84,658		76,017
Voice		11,896		10,477
Business services		76,498		60,362
Other		23,521		10,801
Total revenues	$	426,726	$	341,262
Franchise and other regulatory fees	$	8,094	$	6,152
Deferred commission amortization	$	1,253	$	1,468

Other revenues are comprised primarily of regulatory revenues, advertising sales, late charges and reconnect fees.

Fees imposed on the Company by various governmental authorities, including franchise fees, are passed through on a monthly basis to the Company’s customers and are periodically remitted to authorities. As the Company acts as principal, these fees are reported in video and voice revenues on a gross basis with corresponding expenses included within operating expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

Deferred commission amortization expense is included within selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

Current deferred revenue liabilities consist of refundable customer prepayments, up-front charges and installation fees. As of March 31, 2022, the Company’s remaining performance obligations pertain to the refundable customer prepayments and consist of providing future data, video and voice services to customers. Of the $26.9 million of current deferred revenue at December 31, 2021, $22.1 million was recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2022. Noncurrent deferred revenue liabilities consist of up-front charges and installation fees from business customers.

4.      OPERATING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

Accounts receivable consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Trade receivables	$	38,192		$	41,947
Other receivables		14,534			16,847
Less: Allowance for credit losses		(2,580	)		(2,541	)
Total accounts receivable, net	$	50,146		$	56,253

The changes in the allowance for credit losses were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022			2021
Beginning balance	$	2,541		$	1,252
Additions - charged to costs and expenses		1,718			643
Deductions - write-offs		(3,261	)		(2,451	)
Recoveries collected		1,582			1,930
Ending balance	$	2,580		$	1,374

8

 

Prepaid and other current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Prepaid repairs and maintenance	$	11,091	$	4,788
Software implementation costs		1,336		1,199
Prepaid insurance		1,637		3,325
Prepaid rent		3,187		2,107
Prepaid software		7,820		6,982
Deferred commissions		3,609		4,295
All other current assets		12,335		9,009
Total prepaid and other current assets	$	41,015	$	31,705

Other noncurrent assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	12,354	$	15,501
Deferred commissions		8,673		8,624
Software implementation costs		7,457		7,782
Debt issuance costs		2,410		2,576
Debt investment		2,000		-
Assets held for sale		3,896		3,819
All other noncurrent assets		2,540		4,020
Total other noncurrent assets	$	39,330	$	42,322

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Accounts payable	$	35,640	$	35,716
Accrued programming costs		24,425		23,703
Accrued compensation and related benefits		24,833		34,731
Accrued sales and other operating taxes		8,879		12,872
Accrued franchise fees		3,734		4,397
Deposits		6,796		6,840
Operating lease liabilities		4,386		5,633
Interest rate swap liability		11,068		26,662
Accrued insurance costs		5,307		5,542
Cash overdrafts		13,479		11,517
Equity investment payable(1)		10,087		13,387
Interest payable		10,414		5,172
All other accrued liabilities		23,203		17,215
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	182,251	$	203,387

⁽¹⁾ Consists of the unfunded portion of the Company’s equity investment in Wisper ISP, LLC (“Wisper”). In March 2022, the Company funded $3.3 million of the then outstanding investment payable to Wisper. Refer to note 5 for details on this investment.

9

 

Other noncurrent liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Operating lease liabilities	$	7,235	$	9,098
Accrued compensation and related benefits		10,218		11,010
Deferred revenue		6,358		6,854
MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5)(1)		39,010		123,620
All other noncurrent liabilities		4,612		5,959
Total other noncurrent liabilities	$	67,433	$	156,541

⁽¹⁾ Represents the net value of the Company’s call and put options associated with the remaining equity interests in MBI (as defined in note 5), consisting of an asset of $27.6 million and a liability of $66.6 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2022 and a liability of $17.8 million and a liability of $105.8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2021. Refer to notes 5 and 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5).

5.     EQUITY INVESTMENTS

On May 4, 2020, the Company made a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC, a wireless internet service provider (“Nextlink”), for $27.2 million. On July 10, 2020, the Company acquired a 40.4% minority equity interest in Wisper, a wireless internet service provider, for total consideration of $25.3 million. The Company has funded $15.2 million of the total consideration for Wisper and expects to fund the remainder within the next twelve months. On October 1, 2020, the Company contributed the Anniston System to Hargray, a data, video and voice services provider, in exchange for an approximately 15% equity interest in Hargray on a fully diluted basis and recognized an $82.6 million non-cash gain. On November 12, 2020, the Company acquired a 45.0% minority equity interest in Mega Broadband Investments Holdings LLC, a data, video and voice services provider (“MBI”), for $574.9 million in cash.

On May 3, 2021, the Company acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that it did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price, which implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis, and recognized a $33.4 million non-cash gain as a result of the fair value remeasurement of the Company’s existing equity interest on the acquisition date. On   October 1, 2021, the Company made a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in Point Broadband Holdings, LLC, a fiber internet service provider ("Point Broadband"), for $25.0 million. On  October 18, 2021, the Company completed a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in Tristar Acquisition I Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company ("Tristar"), for $20.8 million. On  November 5, 2021, the Company invested an additional $50.0 million to acquire preferred units in Nextlink, increasing its equity interest to approximately 17%.

On  January 1, 2022, the Company closed a joint venture transaction in which the Company contributed certain fiber operations (including certain fiber assets of Hargray) and certain unaffiliated third-party investors contributed cash to a newly formed entity, Clearwave Fiber. The operations contributed by the Company generated approximately 3% of Cable One's consolidated revenues for the three months ended  December 31, 2021. The Company's approximately 58% investment in Clearwave Fiber was valued at $440.0 million as of the closing date. The Company recognized a non-cash gain of $22.1 million associated with this transaction. On March 1, 2022, the Company funded Wisper $3.3 million of the then outstanding investment payable. On March 24, 2022, the Company invested an additional $5.4 million in Point Broadband, increasing its equity interest to approximately 7%.

10

 

The carrying value of the Company’s equity investments without readily determinable fair values are determined based on fair valuations as of their respective acquisition dates. As Tristar is publicly traded, the carrying value of the Company's Tristar investment is remeasured to fair value on a quarterly basis using market information.

The carrying value of the Company's equity investments consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

	Ownership	March 31,		December 31,
	Percentage	2022		2021
Cost Method Investments
Nextlink	<20%	$	77,245	$	77,245
Point Broadband	<10%		30,373		25,000
Tristar	<10%		23,208		23,083
Others	<10%		13,658		13,170
Total cost method investments		$	144,484	$	138,498
Equity Method Investments
Clearwave Fiber	~58%	$	440,000	$	-
MBI(1)	45.0%		560,496		557,715
Wisper	40.4%		32,352		31,352
Total equity method investments		$	1,032,848	$	589,067
Total equity investments		$	1,177,332	$	727,565

⁽¹⁾ The Company holds a call option to purchase all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. If the call option is not exercised, certain investors in MBI hold a put option to sell (and to cause all members of MBI other than the Company to sell) to the Company all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between July 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025. The call and put options (collectively referred to as the “MBI Net Option”) are measured at fair value using Monte Carlo simulations that rely on assumptions around MBI’s equity value, MBI’s and the Company’s equity volatility, MBI’s and the Company’s EBITDA volatility, risk adjusted discount rates and the Company’s cost of debt, among others. The final MBI purchase price allocation resulted in $630.7 million being allocated to the MBI equity investment and $19.7 million and $75.5 million being allocated to the call and put options, respectively. The MBI Net Option is remeasured at fair value on a quarterly basis. The carrying value of the MBI Net Option liability was $39.0 million and $123.6 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, and was included within other noncurrent liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Refer to note 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option.

The carrying value of MBI exceeded the Company’s underlying equity in MBI’s net assets by approximately $502.9 million and $508.3 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.

11

 

Equity method investment income (losses), which increase (decrease) the carrying value of the respective investment, and which are recorded on a one quarter lag, and the change in fair value of the MBI Net Option were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Equity Method Investment Income (Loss)
MBI(1)	$	2,781	$	(1,214	)
Wisper		999		646
Total	$	3,780	$	(568	)
Other Income (Expense), Net
MBI Net Option change in fair value	$	84,610	$	5,560

⁽¹⁾ The Company identified a $186.6 million difference between the fair values of certain of MBI’s finite-lived intangible assets and the respective carrying values recorded by MBI, of which $84.0 million was attributable to the Company’s 45% pro rata portion. The Company is amortizing its share on an accelerated basis over the lives of the respective assets. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company recognized $6.7 million of its pro rata share of MBI’s net income and $4.0 million of its pro rata share of basis difference amortization. For the three months ended  March 31, 2021, the Company recognized $1.4 million of its pro rata share of MBI’s net income and $2.7 million of its pro rata share of basis difference amortization.

The Company assesses each equity investment for indicators of impairment on a quarterly basis. No impairments were recorded for any of the periods presented.

6.      PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Property, plant and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):  

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Cable distribution systems	$	2,291,433		$	2,509,795
Customer premise equipment		323,982			320,937
Other equipment and fixtures		464,784			472,319
Buildings and improvements		138,436			142,754
Capitalized software		91,802			89,662
Construction in progress		167,104			172,706
Land		12,363			12,134
Right-of-use assets		11,241			11,241
Property, plant and equipment, gross		3,501,145			3,731,548
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,898,652	)		(1,877,444	)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	1,602,493		$	1,854,104

The Company contributed $280.0 million of property, plant and equipment to the Clearwave Fiber joint venture on January 1, 2022.

The Company classified $3.9 million of property, plant and equipment as held for sale as of March 31, 2022. Such assets are included within other noncurrent assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Depreciation and amortization expense for property, plant and equipment was $67.1 million and $58.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

7.      GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The carrying amount of goodwill was $928.0 million at March 31, 2022 and $967.9 at December 31, 2021, with the $39.9 million decrease attributable to goodwill divested in the Clearwave Fiber transaction on January 1, 2022. The Company has not historically recorded any impairment of goodwill.

12

 

Intangible assets consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):   

		March 31, 2022						December 31, 2021
	Useful Life	Gross				Net		Gross				Net
	Range	Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying		Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying
	(in years)	Amount		Amortization		Amount		Amount		Amortization		Amount
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets
Customer relationships	13.5 – 17	$	788,042	$	164,237	$	623,805	$	857,100	$	153,699	$	703,401
Trademarks and trade names	2.7 – 4.2		11,922		4,429		7,493		13,500		3,852		9,648
Wireless licenses	10 – 15		1,418		178		1,240		1,418		142		1,276
Total finite-lived intangible assets		$	801,382	$	168,844	$	632,538	$	872,018	$	157,693	$	714,325
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Franchise agreements						$	2,111,568					$	2,139,312
Trade names							800						7,500
Total indefinite-lived intangible assets						$	2,112,368					$	2,146,812
Total intangible assets, net						$	2,744,906					$	2,861,137

The $116.2 million decrease in the net carrying amount of intangible assets from December 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022 included $59.7 million of customer relationships, $8.1 million of trademarks and trade names and $27.7 million of franchise agreements divested in the Clearwave Fiber transaction on January 1, 2022.

Intangible asset amortization expense was $20.8 million and $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The future amortization of existing finite-lived intangible assets as of March 31, 2022 was as follows (in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,	Amount
2022 (remaining nine months)	$	63,181
2023		73,111
2024		66,307
2025		61,279
2026		55,681
Thereafter		312,979
Total	$	632,538

Actual amortization expense in future periods may differ from the amounts above as a result of intangible asset acquisitions or divestitures, changes in useful life estimates, impairments or other relevant factors.

8.      DEBT

The carrying amount of long-term debt consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Senior Credit Facilities (as defined below)	$	2,303,458		$	2,311,890
Senior Notes (as defined below)		650,000			650,000
Convertible Notes (as defined below)		920,000			920,000
Finance lease liabilities		5,378			5,621
Total debt		3,878,836			3,887,511
Less: Unamortized debt discount		(19,544	)		(20,602	)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs		(27,423	)		(28,572	)
Less: Current portion of long-term debt		(43,105	)		(38,837	)
Total long-term debt	$	3,788,764		$	3,799,500

Senior Credit Facilities. The Company has in place a credit agreement (the "Credit Agreement") that provides for senior secured term loans in original aggregate principal amounts of $700.0 million maturing in 2025 (the “Term Loan A-2”), $250.0 million maturing in 2027 (the “Term Loan B-2”), $625.0 million maturing in 2027 (the “Term Loan B-3”) and $800.0 million maturing in 2028 (the "Term Loan B-4"), as well as a $500.0 million revolving credit facility maturing in 2025 (the “Revolving Credit Facility” and, together with the Term Loan A-2, the Term Loan B-2, the Term Loan B-3 and the Term Loan B-4, the “Senior Credit Facilities”). The Revolving Credit Facility also gives the Company the ability to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility.

13

 

Refer to the table below summarizing the Company’s outstanding term loans as of March 31, 2022 and note 10 to the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2021 Form 10-K for further details on the Senior Credit Facilities.

The Company has issued letters of credit totaling $44.1 million under the Revolving Credit Facility on behalf of Wisper to guarantee its performance obligations under a Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) broadband funding program, as of March 31, 2022. The fair value of the letters of credit approximates face value based on the short-term nature of the agreements. The Company would be liable for up to the total amount outstanding under the letters of credit if Wisper were to fail to satisfy all or some of its performance obligations under the FCC program. Wisper has guaranteed and indemnified the Company in connection with such letters of credit. As of March 31, 2022, the Company has assessed the likelihood of non-performance associated with the guarantee to be remote, and therefore, no liability has been accrued within the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Total letter of credit issuances under the Revolving Credit Facility were  $51.2 million at March 31, 2022 and bore interest at a rate of 1.88% per annum.

As of March 31, 2022, the Company had approximately  $2.3 billion of aggregate outstanding term loans and $448.8 million available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility. A summary of the Company’s outstanding term loans as of March 31, 2022 is as follows (dollars in thousands):

Instrument	Draw Date(s)	Original Principal		Amortization Per Annum(1)	Outstanding Principal		Final Maturity Date	Final Scheduled Principal Payment		Benchmark Rate	Applicable Margin(2)	Interest Rate
Term Loan A-2	5/8/2019(3) 10/1/2019(3)	$	700,000	Varies(4)	$	655,335	10/30/2025	$	476,607	LIBOR	1.75%	2.21%
Term Loan B-2	1/7/2019		250,000	1.0%		242,500	10/30/2027		228,750	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-3	6/14/2019(5) 10/30/2020(5)		625,000	1.0%		611,623	10/30/2027		577,472	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-4	5/3/2021		800,000	1.0%		794,000	5/3/2028		746,000	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Total		$	2,375,000		$	2,303,458		$	2,028,829

(1)	Payable in equal quarterly installments (expressed as a percentage of the original principal amount and subject to customary adjustments in the event of any prepayment). All loans may be prepaid at any time without penalty or premium (subject to customary LIBOR breakage provisions).
(2)	The Term Loan A-2 interest rate spread can vary between 1.25% and 1.75%, determined on a quarterly basis by reference to a pricing grid based on the Company’s Total Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement). All other applicable margins are fixed.
(3)	On May 8, 2019, $250.0 million was drawn. On October 1, 2019, an additional $450.0 million was drawn. On October 30, 2020, the amortization schedule was reset.
(4)	Per annum amortization rates for years one through five following October 30, 2020 are 2.5%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 12.5%, respectively.
(5)	On June 14, 2019, $325.0 million was drawn. On October 30, 2020, an additional $300.0 million was drawn.

Senior Notes. In November 2020, the Company issued $650.0 million aggregate principal amount of 4.00% senior notes due 2030 (the “Senior Notes”). The Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.00% per annum payable semi-annually in arrears on May 15th and November 15th of each year. The terms of the Senior Notes are governed by an indenture dated as of November 9, 2020 (the “Senior Notes Indenture”), among the Company, the guarantors party thereto and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (“BNY”), as trustee.

At any time and from time to time prior to November 15, 2025, the Company may redeem some or all of the Senior Notes for cash at a redemption price equal to 100% of their principal amount, plus the “make-whole” premium described in the Senior Notes Indenture and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date. Beginning on November 15, 2025, the Company may redeem some or all of the Senior Notes at any time and from time to time at the applicable redemption prices listed in the Senior Notes Indenture, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date. In addition, at any time and from time to time prior to November 15, 2023, the Company may redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes with funds in an aggregate amount not exceeding the net cash proceeds from one or more equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 104% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.

Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control and a Below Investment Grade Rating Event (each as defined in the Senior Notes Indenture), the Company is required to offer to repurchase the Senior Notes at 101% of the principal amount of such Senior Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the date of repurchase.

Convertible Notes. In March 2021, the Company issued $575.0 million aggregate principal amount of 0.000% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”) and $345.0 million aggregate principal amount of 1.125% convertible senior notes due 2028 (the “2028 Notes” and, together with the 2026 Notes, the “Convertible Notes,” and the Convertible Notes collectively with the Senior Notes, the “Notes”). The terms of the 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes are each governed by a separate indenture dated as of March 5, 2021 (collectively, the “Convertible Notes Indentures” and together with the Senior Notes Indenture, the “Indentures”), in each case, among the Company, the guarantors party thereto and BNY, as trustee.

The 2026 Notes do not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the 2026 Notes does not accrete. The 2028 Notes bear interest at a rate of 1.125% per annum. Interest on the 2028 Notes is payable semiannually in arrears on March 15th and September 15th of each year, unless earlier repurchased, converted or redeemed. The 2026 Notes are scheduled to mature on March 15, 2026, and the 2028 Notes are scheduled to mature on March 15, 2028. The initial conversion rate for each of the 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes is 0.4394 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2026 Notes and 2028 Notes, as applicable (equivalent to an initial conversion price of $2,275.83 per share of common stock).

14

 

The Convertible Notes are convertible at the option of the holders. The method of conversion into cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination thereof is at the election of the Company. Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2025, the 2026 Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders only upon the satisfaction of specified conditions and during certain periods. On or after December 15, 2025, holders may convert their 2026 Notes at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the relevant maturity date. Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2027, the 2028 Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders only upon the satisfaction of specified conditions and during certain periods. On or after December 15, 2027, holders may convert their 2028 Notes at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the relevant maturity date. If the Company undergoes a “fundamental change” (as defined in the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture), holders of the applicable series of Convertible Notes may require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part of their Convertible Notes of such series at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes of such series to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the fundamental change repurchase date.

The Company may not redeem the 2026 Notes prior to March 20, 2024 and it may not redeem the 2028 Notes prior to March 20, 2025. No “sinking fund” is provided for the Convertible Notes. On or after March 20, 2024 and prior to December 15, 2025, the Company may redeem for cash all or any portion of the 2026 Notes, at its option, and on or after March 20, 2025 and prior to December 15, 2027, the Company may redeem for cash all or any portion of the 2028 Notes, at its option, in each case, if the last reported sale price per share of common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price for such series of Convertible Notes then in effect for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive), including the trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Company provides notice of redemption, during any 30 consecutive trading day period ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Company provides notice of redemption at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes of such series to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the redemption date.

In addition, following a “make-whole fundamental change” (as defined in the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture) or if the Company delivers a notice of redemption in respect of any Convertible Notes of a series, in certain circumstances, the conversion rate applicable to such series of Convertible Notes will be increased for a holder who elects to convert any of such Convertible Notes in connection with such a make-whole fundamental change or convert any of such Convertible Notes called (or deemed called) for redemption during the related redemption period, as the case may be.

The carrying amounts of the Convertible Notes consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022									December 31, 2021
	2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total			2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total
Gross carrying amount	$	575,000		$	345,000		$	920,000		$	575,000		$	345,000		$	920,000
Less: Unamortized discount		(11,871	)		(7,673	)		(19,544	)		(12,611	)		(7,991	)		(20,602	)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs		(324	)		(217	)		(541	)		(344	)		(226	)		(570	)
Net carrying amount	$	562,805		$	337,110		$	899,915		$	562,045		$	336,783		$	898,828

Interest expense on the Convertible Notes consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022								2021
	2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total		2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total
Contractual interest expense	$	-		$	970		$	970	$	-		$	291		$	291
Amortization of discount		740			318			1,058		222			95			317
Amortization of debt issuance costs		20			9			29		6			2			8
Total interest expense	$	760		$	1,297		$	2,057	$	228		$	388		$	616
Effective interest rate		0.5	%		1.5	%				0.5	%		1.5	%

General. The Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company and are guaranteed by the Company’s wholly owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantee the Senior Credit Facilities or that guarantee certain capital market debt of the Company in an aggregate principal amount in excess of $250.0 million.

15

 

Each Indenture contains covenants that, among other things and subject to certain exceptions, limit (i) the Company’s ability to consolidate or merge with or into another person or sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries (taken as a whole) and (ii) the ability of the guarantors to consolidate with or merge with or into another person. The Senior Notes Indenture also contains a covenant that, subject to certain exceptions, limits the Company’s ability and the ability of its subsidiaries to incur any liens securing indebtedness for borrowed money.

Each Indenture provides for customary events of default which include (subject in certain cases to customary grace and cure periods), among others, default in payment of principal or interest, breach of other agreements or covenants in respect of the relevant Notes by the Company or any guarantors, failure to pay certain other indebtedness at final maturity, acceleration of certain indebtedness prior to final maturity, failure to pay certain final judgments, failure of certain guarantees to be enforceable and certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization; and, in the case of each Convertible Notes Indenture, failure to comply with the Company’s obligation to convert the relevant Convertible Notes under the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture and failure to give a fundamental change notice or a notice of a make-whole fundamental change under the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture.

Unamortized debt issuance costs consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Revolving Credit Facility portion:
Other noncurrent assets	$	2,410	$	2,576
Term loans and Notes portion:
Long-term debt (contra account)		27,423		28,572
Total	$	29,833	$	31,148

The Company recorded debt issuance cost amortization of $1.3 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, within interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

The future maturities of outstanding borrowings as of March 31, 2022 were as follows (in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,	Amount
2022 (remaining nine months)	$	29,554
2023		55,008
2024		76,285
2025		557,147
2026		591,709
Thereafter		2,563,755
Total	$	3,873,458

The Company was in compliance with all debt covenants as of March 31, 2022. 

9.      INTEREST RATE SWAPS

The Company is party to two interest rate swap agreements, designated as cash flow hedges, to manage the risk of fluctuations in interest rates on its variable rate LIBOR debt. Changes in the fair values of the interest rate swaps are reported through other comprehensive income until the underlying hedged debt’s interest expense impacts net income, at which point the corresponding change in fair value is reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to interest expense.

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A summary of the significant terms of the Company’s interest rate swap agreements is as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Entry	Effective	Maturity	Notional		Settlement	Settlement	Fixed
	Date	Date	Date(1)	Amount		Type	Frequency	Base Rate
Swap A	3/7/2019	3/11/2019	3/11/2029	$	850,000	Receive one-month LIBOR, pay fixed	Monthly	2.653%
Swap B	3/6/2019	6/15/2020	2/28/2029		350,000	Receive one-month LIBOR, pay fixed	Monthly	2.739%
Total				$	1,200,000

⁽¹⁾ Each swap may be terminated prior to the scheduled maturity at the election of the Company or the financial institution counterparty under the terms provided in each swap agreement.

The combined fair values of the Company’s interest rate swaps are reflected within the condensed consolidated balance sheets as follows (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Liabilities:
Current portion:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	11,068	$	26,662
Noncurrent portion:
Interest rate swap liability	$	21,390	$	81,627
Total	$	32,458	$	108,289
Stockholders’ Equity:
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	24,503	$	81,873

The combined effect of the Company’s interest rate swaps on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022			2021
Interest expense	$	7,609		$	7,649
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, gross	$	(75,831	)	$	(73,582	)
Less: Tax effect		18,461			18,118
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, net of tax	$	(57,370	)	$	(55,464	)

The Company does not hold any derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes.

10.     FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Financial Assets and Liabilities. The Company has estimated the fair values of its financial instruments as of March 31, 2022 using available market information or other appropriate valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the following fair value estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company would realize in an actual market exchange.

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The carrying amounts, fair values and related fair value hierarchy levels of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities as of March 31, 2022 were as follows (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022
	Carrying		Fair		Fair Value
	Amount		Value		Hierarchy
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents:
Money market investments	$	313,022	$	313,022	Level 1
Liabilities:
Long-term debt (including current portion):
Term loans	$	2,303,458	$	2,279,580	Level 2
Senior Notes	$	650,000	$	598,000	Level 2
Convertible Notes	$	920,000	$	815,534	Level 2
Interest rate swap liability (including current portion):
Interest rate swaps	$	32,458	$	32,458	Level 2
Other noncurrent liabilities:
MBI Net Option	$	39,010	$	39,010	Level 3

Money market investments are held primarily in U.S. Treasury securities and registered money market funds and are valued using a market approach based on quoted market prices (level 1). Money market investments with original maturities of three months or less are included within cash and cash equivalents in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of the term loans, Senior Notes and Convertible Notes are estimated based on market prices for similar instruments in active markets (level 2). Interest rate swaps are measured at fair value within the condensed consolidated balance sheets on a recurring basis, with fair value determined using standard valuation models with assumptions about interest rates being based on those observed in underlying markets (level 2). The fair value of the MBI Net Option is measured using Monte Carlo simulations that use inputs considered unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement (level 3).

The assumptions used to determine the fair value of the MBI Net Option consisted of the following:

	March 31, 2022						December 31, 2021
	Cable One			MBI			Cable One			MBI
Equity volatility		30.0	%		30.0	%		30.0	%		30.0	%
EBITDA volatility		10.0	%		10.0	%		10.0	%		10.0	%
EBITDA risk-adjusted discount rate		6.5	%		8.0	%		5.0	%		6.5	%
Cost of debt		5.0	%					4.0	%

The Company regularly evaluates each of the assumptions used in establishing the fair value of the MBI Net Option. Significant changes in any of these assumptions could result in a significantly lower or higher fair value measurement. A change in one of these assumptions is not necessarily accompanied by a change in another assumption. Refer to note 5 for further information on the MBI Net Option.

The carrying amounts of accounts receivable, accounts payable and other financial assets and liabilities approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments.

Nonfinancial Assets and Liabilities. The Company’s nonfinancial assets, such as property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill, are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Assets acquired, including identifiable intangible assets and goodwill, and liabilities assumed in acquisitions are recorded at fair value on the respective acquisition dates, subject to potential future measurement period adjustments. Nonfinancial assets are subject to fair value adjustments when there is evidence that impairment may exist. No material impairments were recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2022 or 2021.

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11.      STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Treasury Stock. Treasury stock is recorded at cost and is presented as a reduction of stockholders’ equity in the condensed consolidated financial statements. Treasury shares of 163,609 held at March 31, 2022 include shares repurchased under the Company’s share repurchase program and shares withheld for withholding tax, as described below.

Share Repurchase Program. On July 1, 2015, the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) authorized up to $250.0 million of share repurchases (subject to a total cap of 600,000 shares of common stock). Purchases under the share repurchase program may be made from time to time on the open market and in privately negotiated transactions. The size and timing of these purchases are based on a number of factors, including share price and business and market conditions. Since the inception of the share repurchase program through March 31, 2022, the Company had repurchased 258,431 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $174.6 million, including 47,800 shares purchased at an aggregate cost of $69.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Tax Withholding for Equity Awards. At the employee’s option, shares of common stock are withheld by the Company upon the vesting of restricted stock and exercise of stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) to cover the applicable statutory minimum amount of employee withholding taxes, which the Company then pays to the taxing authorities in cash. The amounts remitted during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were $4.7 million and $7.7 million, for which the Company withheld 2,681 and 3,493 shares of common stock, respectively.

12.      EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION 

The Amended and Restated Cable One, Inc. 2015 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2015 Plan”) provides for grants of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards, SARs, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), cash-based awards, performance-based awards, dividend equivalent units (“DEUs” and, together with restricted stock awards and RSUs, “Restricted Stock”) and other stock-based awards, including performance stock units and deferred stock units. Directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company are eligible for grants under the 2015 Plan as part of the Company’s approach to long-term incentive compensation. At March 31, 2022, 61,666 shares were available for issuance under the 2015 Plan.

Compensation expense associated with equity-based awards is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the award, with forfeitures recognized as incurred. The Company’s equity-based compensation expense, included within selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, was as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Restricted Stock	$	4,637	$	3,424
SARs		568		703
Total	$	5,205	$	4,127

The Company recognized excess tax benefits of $0.6 million and $3.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The deferred tax asset related to all outstanding equity-based awards was $4.2 million as of March 31, 2022.

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Restricted Stock. A summary of Restricted Stock activity during the three months ended March 31, 2022 is as follows:

				Weighted
				Average Grant
	Restricted			Date Fair Value
	Stock			Per Share
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021		34,026		$	1,487.02
Granted		16,849		$	1,743.82
Forfeited		(940	)	$	1,882.16
Vested and issued		(7,186	)	$	1,164.87
Outstanding as of March 31, 2022		42,749		$	1,633.70
Vested and deferred as of March 31, 2022		5,978		$	756.32

At March 31, 2022, there was $39.9 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to Restricted Stock, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.8 years.

Stock Appreciation Rights. A summary of SARs activity during the three months ended March 31, 2022 is as follows:

										Weighted
						Weighted				Average
				Weighted		Average		Aggregate		Remaining
	Stock			Average		Grant		Intrinsic		Contractual
	Appreciation			Exercise		Date Fair		Value		Term
	Rights			Price		Value		(in thousands)		(in years)
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021		45,740		$	1,075.34	$	263.62	$	32,897		7.1
Granted		-		$	-	$	-	$	-		-
Exercised		-		$	-	$	-	$	-		-
Forfeited		(1,750	)	$	1,492.73	$	375.76
Outstanding as of March 31, 2022		43,990		$	1,058.73	$	259.16	$	22,019		6.8
Exercisable as of March 31, 2022		27,365		$	806.36	$	190.78	$	18,697		6.0

At March 31, 2022, there was $4.8 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to SARs, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.2 years.

13.      INCOME TAXES

The Company’s effective tax rate was 19.8% and 20.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2022 compared to the prior year quarter was due primarily to a $15.2 million increase in income tax benefit related to a change in the valuation allowance associated with the MBI Net Option, partially offset by a $4.9 million tax expense for the deferred tax liability establishment associated with the Clearwave Fiber Contribution tax outside basis difference and a $3.0 million decrease in excess tax benefit from equity-based compensation awards. 

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14.      OTHER INCOME AND EXPENSE

Other income (expense) consisted of the following (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
MBI Net Option fair value adjustment	$	84,610	$	5,560
Write-off of debt issuance costs		-		(487	)
Interest and investment income		3,443		3,225
Mark-to-market adjustments and other		7		(198	)
Other income (expense), net	$	88,060	$	8,100

15.      NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE

Basic net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. The denominator used in calculating diluted net income per common share further includes any common shares available to be issued upon vesting or exercise of outstanding equity-based compensation awards if such inclusion would be dilutive, calculated using the treasury stock method, and any common shares to be issued upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, calculated using the if-converted method.

The computation of basic and diluted net income per common share was as follows (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Numerator:
Net income - basic	$	171,476	$	68,582
Add: Convertible Notes interest expense, net of tax		1,543		462
Net income - diluted	$	173,019	$	69,044
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic		6,018,881		6,012,402
Effect of dilutive equity-based compensation awards(1)		21,834		40,443
Effect of dilution from if-converted Convertible Notes(2)		404,248		115,416
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted		6,444,963		6,168,261
Net Income per Common Share:
Basic	$	28.49	$	11.41
Diluted	$	26.85	$	11.19
Supplemental Net Income per Common Share Disclosure:
Anti-dilutive shares from equity-based compensation awards(1)		16,319		7,232

(1)	Equity-based compensation awards whose impact is considered to be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method were excluded from the diluted net income per common share calculation.
(2)	Based on a conversion rate of 0.4394 shares of common stock per weighted $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes outstanding during both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.

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16.      COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Contractual Obligations. The Company has obligations to make future payments for goods and services under certain contractual arrangements. These contractual obligations secure the future rights to various goods and services to be used in the normal course of the Company’s operations. In accordance with applicable accounting rules, the future rights and obligations pertaining to firm commitments, such as certain purchase obligations under contracts, are not reflected as assets or liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2022, there have been no material changes to the contractual obligations previously disclosed in the 2021 Form 10-K.

In addition, the Company incurs recurring utility pole rental costs and fees imposed by various governmental authorities, including franchise fees, as part of its operations. However, these costs are not included in the Company’s contractual obligations as they are cancellable on short notice, in the case of pole rental costs, or are passed through on a monthly basis to the Company’s customers and are periodically remitted to authorities, in the case of fees imposed by governmental authorities. The Company also has franchise agreements requiring plant construction and the provision of services to customers within the franchise areas. In connection with these obligations under existing franchise agreements, the Company obtains surety bonds or letters of credit guaranteeing performance to municipalities and public utilities and payment of insurance premiums. Payments under these arrangements are required only in the remote event of nonperformance. The Company issued letters of credit totaling $44.1 million on behalf of Wisper to guarantee its performance obligations under an FCC broadband funding program. As of March 31, 2022, the Company has assessed the likelihood of non-performance associated with the guarantee to be remote, and therefore, no liability has been accrued within the condensed consolidated balance sheet. Refer to note 8 for further details on this transaction.

Litigation and Legal Matters. The Company is subject to complaints and administrative proceedings and has been a defendant in various civil lawsuits that have arisen in the ordinary course of its business. Such matters include contract disputes; actions alleging negligence, invasion of privacy, trademark, copyright and patent infringement, and violations of applicable wage and hour laws; statutory or common law claims involving current and former employees; and other matters. Although the outcomes of any legal claims and proceedings against the Company cannot be predicted with certainty, based on currently available information, the Company believes that there are no existing claims or proceedings that are likely to have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Regulation in the Company’ s Industry. The Company’s operations are extensively regulated by the FCC, some state governments and most local governments. The FCC has the authority to enforce its regulations through the imposition of substantial fines, the issuance of cease and desist orders and/or the imposition of other administrative sanctions, such as the revocation of FCC licenses needed to operate certain transmission facilities used in connection with cable operations. Future legislative and regulatory changes could adversely affect the Company’s operations .

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ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the related “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” both of which are contained in our 2021 Form 10-K. Our results of operations and financial condition discussed herein may not be indicative of our future results and trends.

Throughout this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” all totals, percentages and year-over-year changes are calculated using exact numbers. Minor differences may exist due to rounding.

The results discussed below include Hargray operations for the period since the May 3, 2021 acquisition date and CableAmerica operations for the period since the December 30, 2021 acquisition date, and exclude the operations contributed to Clearwave Fiber (the "Clearwave Fiber Contribution") for the period since the January 1, 2022 contribution date. Hargray and CableAmerica operations are collectively referred to as the "Acquired Operations" within the following discussion.

Overview

We are a fully integrated provider of data, video and voice services to residential and business customers in 24 Western, Midwestern and Southern states as of March 31, 2022. The markets we serve are primarily non-metropolitan, secondary and tertiary markets, with approximately 73% of our customers located in seven states as of March 31, 2022: Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Our biggest customer concentrations are in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region and in the greater Boise, Idaho region. We provided service to approximately 1.1 million residential and business customers out of approximately 2.7 million homes passed as of March 31, 2022. Of these customers, approximately 1,057,000 subscribed to data services, 238,000 subscribed to video services and 143,000 subscribed to voice services as of March 31, 2022.

We generate substantially all of our revenues through three primary product lines. Ranked by share of our total revenues through the first three months of 2022, they are residential data (53.9%), residential video (19.8%) and business services (data, voice and video: 17.9%). The profit margins, growth rates and/or capital intensity of these three primary product lines vary significantly due to competition, product maturity and relative costs.

We focus on growing our higher margin businesses, namely residential data and business services. Beginning in 2013, we began our shift away from our prior concentration on growing revenues through subscriber retention and maximizing customer primary service units (“PSUs”). We adapted our strategy to face the industry-wide trends of declining profitability of residential video services and declining revenues from residential voice services. The declining profitability of residential video services is due primarily to increasing programming costs and retransmission fees and competition from other content providers, and the declining revenues from residential voice services are due primarily to the increasing use of wireless voice services instead of residential voice services. Separately, we have also focused on retaining customers who are likely to produce higher relative value over the life of their service relationships with us, are less attracted by discounting, require less support and churn less. This strategy focuses on increasing Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures and producing higher margins.

Excluding the effects of our recently completed and any potential future acquisitions and divestitures, the trends described above have impacted, and are expected to further impact, our three primary product lines in the following ways:

● Residential data. We have experienced growth in residential data customers and revenues every year since 2013. We expect growth for this product line to continue over the long-term as we believe upgrades in our broadband capacity, our ability to offer higher access speeds than many of our competitors, the reliability and flexibility of our data service offerings and our WiFi support service will enable us to continue to grow average monthly revenue per unit ("ARPU") from our existing customers and capture additional market share from both data subscribers who use other providers as well as households in our footprint that do not yet subscribe to data services from any provider. 

● Residential video. Residential video service is an increasingly costly and fragmenting business, with programming costs and retransmission fees continuing to escalate in the face of a proliferation of streaming content alternatives. We intend to continue our strategy of focusing on the higher-margin businesses of residential data and business services while de-emphasizing our residential video business. As a result of our video strategy, we expect that residential video customers and revenues will decline further in the future. In 2021, we began the launch of Sparklight® TV, an internet protocol-based (“IPTV”) video service that allows customers with our Sparklight TV app to stream our video channels from the cloud. Currently, all of our homes passed in non-Hargray markets have access to Sparklight TV, and we are now working to expand access to the Hargray markets as well. This transition from linear to IPTV video service enables us to reclaim bandwidth, freeing up network capacity to increase data speeds and capacity across our network.

● Business services. We have experienced significant growth in business data customers and revenues, and we expect this growth to continue over the long-term. We attribute this growth to our strategic focus on increasing sales to business customers and our efforts to attract enterprise business customers. Margins for products sold to business customers have remained attractive, which we expect will continue.

23

We continue to experience increased competition, particularly from telephone companies, fiber and municipal overbuilders, over-the-top (“OTT”) video providers and direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) television providers. Because of the levels of competition we face, we believe it is important to make investments in our infrastructure. In addition, a key objective of our capital allocation process is to invest in initiatives designed to drive revenue and Adjusted EBITDA expansion. More than 60% of our total capital expenditures since 2017 were focused on infrastructure improvements that were intended to grow these measures. We continue to invest capital to, among other things, increase fiber density and coverage, expand our footprint, increase plant and data capacity, enhance network reliability and improve the customer experience. As of March 31, 2022, we offered Gigabit data service to nearly all of our homes passed and have deployed DOCSIS 3.1, which, together with Sparklight TV, further increases our network capacity and enables future growth in our residential data and business services product lines.

We expect to continue to devote financial resources to infrastructure improvements in existing and newly acquired markets as well as to expand high-speed data service in areas where our consortium was designated the winning bidder for the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction. We believe these investments are necessary to continually meet our customers’ needs and to remain competitive. The capital enhancements associated with recent acquisitions include rebuilding low-capacity markets; reclaiming bandwidth from analog video services; implementing 32-channel bonding; deploying DOCSIS 4.0; consolidating back office functions such as billing, accounting and service provisioning; migrating products to legacy Cable One platforms; and expanding our high-capacity fiber network.

Our primary goals are to continue growing residential data and business services revenues, to increase profit margins and to deliver strong Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures. To achieve these goals, we intend to continue our disciplined cost management approach, remain focused on customers with expected higher relative value and follow through with further planned investments in broadband plant upgrades, including the deployment of DOCSIS 4.0 capabilities and new data service offerings for residential and business customers. At the same time, we intend to continue balancing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, associates, customers and other stakeholders. We also plan to continue seeking broadband-related acquisition and strategic investment opportunities in rural markets in addition to pursuing organic growth through market expansion projects.

Our recent acquisitions and strategic investments include:

● On May 3, 2021, we acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray, a data, video and voice services provider to residential and business customers throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, that we did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price that implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

● On October 1, 2021, we made a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in Point Broadband, a fiber internet service provider, for $25.0 million. On March 24, 2022, we invested an additional $5.4 million in Point Broadband.

● On October 18, 2021, we completed a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in Tristar, a special-purpose acquisition company, for $20.8 million.

● On November 5, 2021, we invested an additional $50.0 million in Nextlink, a wireless internet service provider, resulting in us owning an approximately 17% equity interest in Nextlink.

● On December 30, 2021, we acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities from CableAmerica, a data, video and voice services provider in central Missouri, for $113.1 million in cash on a debt-free basis. 

● On January 1, 2022, we closed a joint venture transaction in which we contributed certain fiber operations (including certain fiber assets of Hargray) and certain unaffiliated third-party investors contributed cash, to a newly formed entity, Clearwave Fiber. The operations we contributed generated approximately 3% of our consolidated revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2021. Our approximately 58% investment in Clearwave Fiber was valued at $440.0 million as of the closing date. We recognized a non-cash gain of $22.1 million associated with this transaction. Clearwave Fiber is intended to accelerate deployment of fiber internet to residents and businesses in existing markets and near-adjacent areas, as well as to provide connectivity to unserved and underserved areas in such markets via fiber-to-the-premises service.

● On April 1, 2022, we contributed our Tallahassee, Florida system to MetroNet Systems, LLC, a fiber internet service provider ("MetroNet"), in exchange for an equity interest in MetroNet valued at $7.0 million and cash consideration of $7.0 million.

24

Results of Operations

PSU and Customer Counts

Selected subscriber data for the periods presented was as follows (in thousands, except percentages):

	As of March 31,				Annual Net Gain (Loss)
	2022		2021		Change			% Change
Residential data PSUs		962		799		163			20.4
Residential video PSUs		225		239		(14	)		(6.0	)
Residential voice PSUs		102		87		15			17.6
Total residential PSUs		1,289		1,125		164			14.6
Business data PSUs		95		81		14			16.6
Business video PSUs		13		13		1			4.1
Business voice PSUs		41		35		6			16.8
Total business services PSUs		149		129		20			15.4
Total data PSUs		1,057		880		177			20.1
Total video PSUs		238		252		(14	)		(5.5	)
Total voice PSUs		143		122		21			17.4
Total PSUs		1,438		1,254		184			14.7
Residential customer relationships		1,033		902		131			14.5
Business customer relationships		101		86		15			17.7
Total customer relationships		1,134		988		146			14.8

In recent years, our customer mix has shifted away from double- and triple-play packages combining data, video and/or voice services, which is in line with our strategy of focusing on our higher margin residential data and business services product lines. This is largely because some residential video customers have defected to DBS services and OTT offerings and households continue to discontinue residential voice service. In addition, we have focused on selling data-only packages to new customers rather than cross-selling video to these customers.

Use of Nonfinancial Metrics and ARPU

We use various nonfinancial metrics to measure, manage and monitor our operating performance on an ongoing basis. Such metrics include homes passed, PSUs and customer relationships. Homes passed represents the number of serviceable and marketable homes and businesses passed by our active plant. A PSU represents a single subscription to a particular service offering. Residential bulk multi-dwelling PSUs are generally classified as residential and are counted at the individual unit level. Business voice customers who have multiple voice lines are counted as a single PSU. A customer relationship represents a single customer who subscribes to one or more PSUs.

We believe homes passed, PSU and customer relationship counts are useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance. Similar measures with similar titles are common measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in our industry, although our measures of homes passed, PSUs and customer relationships may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

We use ARPU to evaluate and monitor the amount of revenue generated by each type of service subscribed to by customers and the contribution to total revenues as well as to analyze and compare growth patterns. Residential ARPU values represent the applicable residential service revenues (excluding installation and activation fees) divided by the corresponding average of the number of PSUs at the beginning and end of each period, divided by the number of months in the period, except that for any PSUs added or subtracted as a result of an acquisition or divestiture occurring during the period, the associated ARPU values represent the applicable residential service revenues (excluding installation and activation fees) divided by the pro-rated average number of PSUs during such period. Business services ARPU values represent business services revenues divided by the average of the number of business customer relationships at the beginning and end of each period, divided by the number of months in the period, except that for any business customer relationships added or subtracted as a result of an acquisition or divestiture occurring during the period, the associated ARPU values represent business services revenues divided by the pro-rated average number of business customer relationships during such period.

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We believe ARPU is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance. ARPU and similar measures with similar titles are common measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in our industry, although our measure of ARPU may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Comparison of Three Months Ended March 31, 2022 to Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

Revenues

Revenues increased $85.5 million, or 25.0%, due primarily to $76.9 million from the Acquired Operations as well as an increase in higher margin residential data revenues, partially offset by the revenue decrease resulting from the Clearwave Fiber Contribution and decreases in residential video and residential voice revenues. Revenues for the first quarter of 2021 included $5.4 million from the operations contributed to Clearwave Fiber.

Revenues by service offering for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, together with the percentages of total revenues that each item represented for the periods presented, were as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022				2021				2022 vs. 2021
	Revenues		% of Total		Revenues		% of Total		$ Change		% Change
Residential data	$	230,153		53.9	$	183,605		53.8	$	46,548		25.4
Residential video		84,658		19.8		76,017		22.3		8,641		11.4
Residential voice		11,896		2.8		10,477		3.1		1,419		13.5
Business services		76,498		17.9		60,362		17.7		16,136		26.7
Other		23,521		5.5		10,801		3.2		12,720		117.8
Total revenues	$	426,726		100.0	$	341,262		100.0	$	85,464		25.0

Residential data service revenues increased $46.5 million, or 25.4%, due primarily to $30.6 million from the Acquired Operations, as well as subscriber growth, a reduction in package discounting and increased customer subscriptions to premium tiers, including the migration of customers on our 100 Megabits per second ("Mbps") plan to our 200 Mbps plan in March 2022.

Residential video service revenues increased $8.6 million, or 11.4%, due primarily to $14.1 million from the Acquired Operations and a rate adjustment implemented in March 2022, partially offset by a decrease in residential video subscribers.

Residential voice service revenues increased $1.4 million, or 13.5%, due primarily to $2.6 million from the Acquired Operations, partially offset by a decrease in residential voice subscribers.

Business services revenues increased $16.1 million, or 26.7%, due primarily to $17.6 million from the Acquired Operations and growth in our business data and voice services to small and medium-sized businesses and enterprise customers, partially offset by the revenue decrease resulting from the Clearwave Fiber Contribution. Total business customer relationships increased 17.7% year-over-year.

Other revenues increased $12.7 million, or 117.8%, due primarily to $12.0 million from the Acquired Operations consisting primarily of regulatory revenues.

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ARPU for the indicated service offerings for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31,				2022 vs. 2021
	2022		2021		$ Change			% Change
Residential data	$	79.96	$	77.24	$	2.72			3.5
Residential video	$	119.91	$	103.86	$	16.05			15.5
Residential voice	$	38.33	$	39.59	$	(1.26	)		(3.2	)
Business services	$	253.33	$	235.30	$	18.03			7.7

Costs and Expenses

Operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) were $119.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and increased $18.0 million, or 17.7%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2021. The increase in operating expenses was primarily attributable to $22.7 million of additional expenses related to the Acquired Operations and a $1.5 million increase in labor and other compensation-related costs, partially offset by a $5.4 million reduction in programming expenses. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenues were 28.0% and 29.7% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $87.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and increased $18.7 million, or 27.1%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2021. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to $16.0 million of additional expenses related to the Acquired Operations and increases of $2.2 million in marketing costs, $2.0 million in professional fees and $1.4 million in health insurance costs, partially offset by a $3.1 million decrease in acquisition-related costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues were 20.6% and 20.2% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Depreciation and amortization expense was $87.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and increased $19.4 million, or 28.3%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2021. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily due to $24.4 million of additional expenses from the Acquired Operations, partially offset by lower expenses resulting from the Clearwave Fiber Contribution. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of revenues was 20.6% and 20.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

We recognized a $22.1 million non-cash gain associated with the Clearwave Fiber Contribution.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $30.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and increased $6.5 million, or 27.6%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2021. The increase was driven primarily by additional outstanding debt throughout the period and higher interest rates.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income, net, was $88.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and consisted primarily of an $84.6 million non-cash gain on fair value adjustment associated with the MBI Net Option and interest and investment income. Other income, net, was $8.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and consisted primarily of a $5.6 million non-cash gain on fair value adjustment associated with the MBI Net Option and $3.2 million of investment and interest income, partially offset by $0.7 million of financing cost write-offs.

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Income Tax Provision

Income tax provision was $41.5 million and $17.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and our effective tax rate was 19.8% and 20.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in the effective tax rate was due primarily to a $15.2 million increase in income tax benefit related to a change in the valuation allowance associated with the MBI Net Option, partially offset by a $4.9 million tax expense for the deferred tax liability establishment associated with the Clearwave Fiber Contribution tax outside basis difference and a $3.0 million decrease in excess tax benefit from equity-based compensation awards.

Net Income

Net income was $171.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 compared to $68.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Unrealized Gain on Cash Flow Hedges and Other, Net of Tax

Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax was $57.4 million and  $55.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and increased $1.9 million, or 3.5%, due to comparatively higher projected future increases in interest rates.

Use of Adjusted EBITDA

We use certain measures that are not defined by GAAP to evaluate various aspects of our business. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and should be considered in addition to, not as superior to, or as a substitute for, net income reported in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to net income below, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus interest expense, income tax provision (benefit), depreciation and amortization, equity-based compensation, (gain) loss on deferred compensation, acquisition-related costs, (gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, system conversion costs, rebranding costs, (gain) loss on sale of business, equity method investment (income) loss, other (income) expense and other unusual items, as provided in the following table. As such, it eliminates the significant non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of our business as well as other non-cash or special items and is unaffected by our capital structure or investment activities. This measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues and our cash cost of debt financing. These costs are evaluated through other financial measures.

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We use Adjusted EBITDA to assess our performance. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA generally correlates to the measure used in the leverage ratio calculations under the Credit Agreement and the Senior Notes Indenture to determine compliance with the covenants contained in the Credit Agreement and the ability to take certain actions under the Senior Notes Indenture. Adjusted EBITDA is also a significant performance measure used by us in our incentive compensation program. Adjusted EBITDA does not take into account cash used for mandatory debt service requirements or other non-discretionary expenditures, and thus does not represent residual funds available for discretionary uses.

	Three Months Ended March 31,						2022 vs. 2021
(dollars in thousands)	2022			2021			$ Change			% Change
Net income	$	171,476		$	68,582		$	102,894			150.0
Plus: Interest expense		30,080			23,581			6,499			27.6
Income tax provision		41,501			17,715			23,786			134.3
Depreciation and amortization		87,919			68,530			19,389			28.3
Equity-based compensation		5,205			4,127			1,078			26.1
(Gain) loss on deferred compensation		(65	)		27			(92	)		NM
Acquisition-related costs		1,282			4,370			(3,088	)		(70.7	)
(Gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, net		2,490			(120	)		2,610			NM
System conversion costs		573			1,051			(478	)		(45.5	)
Rebranding costs		-			44			(44	)		(100.0	)
(Gain) loss on sale of business		(22,087	)		-			(22,087	)		NM
Equity method investment (income) loss, net		(3,780	)		568			(4,348	)		NM
Other (income) expense, net		(88,060	)		(8,100	)		(79,960	)		NM
Adjusted EBITDA	$	226,534		$	180,375		$	46,159			25.6

NM = Not meaningful.

We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures with similar titles are common measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in our industry, although our measure of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

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Financial Condition: Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity

Our primary funding requirements are for our ongoing operations, capital expenditures, potential acquisitions and strategic investments, payments of quarterly dividends and share repurchases. We believe that existing cash balances, our Senior Credit Facilities and operating cash flows will provide adequate support for these funding requirements over the next 12 months. However, our ability to fund operations, make capital expenditures, make future acquisitions and strategic investments, pay quarterly dividends and make share repurchases depends on future operating performance and cash flows, which, in turn, are subject to prevailing economic conditions and to financial, business and other factors, some of which are beyond our control.

As part of our 45% minority equity interest in MBI, we acquired a call option to purchase all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that we do not already own, which is exercisable at any time between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. If we do not exercise the call option, then investors affiliated with GTCR LLC, a private equity firm based in Chicago, may exercise a put option under which we are obligated to purchase all but not less than all of the direct and indirect equity interests in MBI that we do not already own from all members of MBI other than us, which is exercisable at any time between July 1, 2025 through September 30, 2025. The purchase price payable upon the exercise of the call option or the put option, as applicable, will be calculated under a formula based on a multiple of MBI’s adjusted EBITDA. We have not yet obtained the capital that we believe will be necessary to pay the purchase price if either the call option or the put option are exercised.

A summary of our net cash flows for the periods indicated was as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,						2022 vs. 2021
	2022			2021			$ Change			% Change
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	188,719		$	163,993		$	24,726			15.1
Net cash used in investing activities		(109,646	)		(66,698	)		(42,948	)		64.4
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		(99,709	)		865,094			(964,803	)		(111.5	)
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		(20,636	)		962,389			(983,025	)		(102.1	)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		388,802			574,909			(186,107	)		(32.4	)
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	368,166		$	1,537,298		$	(1,169,132	)		(76.1	)

The $24.7 million year-over-year increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase in Adjusted EBITDA of $46.2 million, a favorable change in accounts payable and lower acquisition-related and system conversion costs, partially offset by an increase in cash paid for interest, a smaller net income tax refund and an unfavorable change in accounts receivable.

The $42.9 million increase in net cash used in investing activities from the prior year period was due primarily to a $32.4 million increase in cash paid for capital expenditures and $10.7 million in debt and equity investments during the three months ended March 31, 2022 that did not occur in the prior year.

The $964.8 million change in net cash used in financing activities from the prior year period was due primarily to net proceeds of $894.6 million from the 2021 offering of the Convertible Notes (the “Convertible Notes Offering”) that did not recur, as well as $69.7 million of share repurchases during 2022 that did not occur in the prior year.

On July 1, 2015, the Board authorized up to $250.0 million of share repurchases (subject to a total cap of 600,000 shares of our common stock). Purchases under the share repurchase program may be made from time to time on the open market and in privately negotiated transactions. The size and timing of these purchases are based on a number of factors, including share price and business and market conditions. Since the inception of the share repurchase program through March 31, 2022, we have repurchased 258,431 shares of our common stock at an aggregate cost of $174.6 million, including 47,800 shares purchased at an aggregate cost of $69.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022. We may, from time to time, continue to opportunistically repurchase shares depending on the trading price of our common stock, market conditions and other factors.

We currently expect to continue to pay comparable quarterly cash dividends on shares of our common stock, subject to approval of the Board. During the first quarter of 2022, the Board approved a quarterly dividend of $2.75 per share of common stock, which was paid on March 4, 2022.

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Financing Activity

Senior Credit Facilities

The Credit Agreement provides for the Term Loan A-2, the Term Loan B-2, the Term Loan B-3, the Term Loan B-4 and the Revolving Credit Facility. The Revolving Credit Facility gives us the ability to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility. As of March 31, 2022, letter of credit issuances under the Revolving Credit Facility totaled $51.2 million and bore interest at a rate of 1.88% per annum.

As of March 31, 2022, we had approximately $2.3 billion of aggregate outstanding term loans and $448.8 million available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility. A summary of our outstanding term loans as of March 31, 2022 is as follows (dollars in thousands):

Instrument	Draw Date(s)	Original Principal		Amortization Per Annum(1)	Outstanding Principal		Final Maturity Date	Final Scheduled Principal Payment		Benchmark Rate	Applicable Margin(2)	Interest Rate
Term Loan A-2	5/8/2019(3) 10/1/2019(3)	$	700,000	Varies(4)	$	655,335	10/30/2025	$	476,607	LIBOR	1.75%	2.21%
Term Loan B-2	1/7/2019		250,000	1.0%		242,500	10/30/2027		228,750	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-3	6/14/2019(5) 10/30/2020(5)		625,000	1.0%		611,623	10/30/2027		577,472	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-4	5/3/2021		800,000	1.0%		794,000	5/3/2028		746,000	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Total		$	2,375,000		$	2,303,458		$	2,028,829

(1)	Payable in equal quarterly installments (expressed as a percentage of the original principal amount and subject to customary adjustments in the event of any prepayment). All loans may be prepaid at any time without penalty or premium (subject to customary LIBOR breakage provisions).
(2)	The Term Loan A-2 interest rate spread can vary between 1.25% and 1.75%, determined on a quarterly basis by reference to a pricing grid based on our Total Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement). All other applicable margins are fixed.
(3)	On May 8, 2019, $250.0 million was drawn. On October 1, 2019, an additional $450.0 million was drawn. On October 30, 2020, the amortization schedule was reset.
(4)	Per annum amortization rates for years one through five following October 30, 2020 are 2.5%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 12.5%, respectively.
(5)	On June 14, 2019, $325.0 million was drawn. On October 30, 2020, an additional $300.0 million was drawn.

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Senior Notes

In November 2020, we completed the offering of $650.0 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due 2030. The Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.00% per annum payable semi-annually in arrears on May 15th and November 15th of each year. The Senior Notes are required to be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by each of our existing and future wholly owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantees our obligations under our Senior Credit Facilities or that guarantees certain capital markets debt of ours or a guarantor in an aggregate principal amount in excess of $250.0 million.

Convertible Notes

In March 2021, we completed the Convertible Notes Offering of $575.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2026 Notes and $345.0 million aggregate principal amount of 2028 Notes. The Convertible Notes are senior unsecured obligations of ours and are guaranteed by our wholly owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantee the Senior Credit Facilities or that guarantee certain of our Notes in an aggregate principal amount in excess of $250.0 million. The 2026 Notes do not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the 2026 Notes do not accrete. The 2028 Notes bear interest at a rate of 1.125% per annum. Interest on the 2028 Notes is payable semiannually in arrears on March 15th and September 15th of each year, unless earlier repurchased, converted or redeemed. The 2026 Notes are scheduled to mature on March 15, 2026, and the 2028 Notes are scheduled to mature on March 15, 2028. The initial conversion rate for each of the 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes is 0.4394 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2026 Notes and 2028 Notes, as applicable (equivalent to an initial conversion price of $2,275.83 per share of common stock). The initial conversion price of each of the 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes represents a premium of 25.0% over the last reported sale price of $1,820.83 per share of our common stock on March 2, 2021. The Convertible Notes are convertible at the option of the holders. The method of conversion into cash, shares of our common stock or a combination thereof is at our election.

Other Debt-Related Information

We were in compliance with all debt covenants as of March 31, 2022.

We recorded debt issuance cost amortization of $1.3 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, within interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

Unamortized debt issuance costs consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Revolving Credit Facility portion:
Other noncurrent assets	$	2,410	$	2,576
Term loans and Notes portion:
Long-term debt (contra account)		27,423		28,572
Total	$	29,833	$	31,148

Unamortized debt discount associated with the Convertible Notes was $19.5 million as of March 31, 2022. We recorded debt discount amortization of $1.1 million and $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, within interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

We are party to two interest rate swap agreements to convert our interest payment obligations with respect to an aggregate of $1.2 billion of our variable rate LIBOR indebtedness to a fixed rate. Under the first swap agreement, with respect to a notional amount of $850.0 million, our monthly payment obligation is determined at a fixed base rate of 2.653%. Under the second swap agreement, with respect to a notional amount of $350.0 million, our monthly payment obligation is determined at a fixed base rate of 2.739%. Both interest rate swap agreements are scheduled to mature in the first quarter of 2029 but each may be terminated prior to the scheduled maturity at our election or that of the financial institution counterparty under the terms provided in each swap agreement. We recognized losses of $7.6 million on interest rate swaps during both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, which were reflected within interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

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Refer to notes 10 and 12 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2021 Form 10-K and notes 8 and 9 to the condensed consolidated financial statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for further details regarding our financing activity, outstanding debt and interest rate swaps.

Capital Expenditures

We have significant ongoing capital expenditure requirements as well as capital enhancements associated with acquired operations, including rebuilding low capacity markets; reclaiming bandwidth from analog video services; implementing 32-channel bonding; deploying DOCSIS 4.0; consolidating back office functions such as billing, accounting and service provisioning; migrating products to legacy Cable One platforms; and expanding our high-capacity fiber network. Capital expenditures are funded primarily by cash on hand and cash flows from operating activities.

Our capital expenditures by category for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Customer premise equipment(1)	$	27,805	$	17,346
Commercial(2)		7,794		8,640
Scalable infrastructure(3)		15,760		15,725
Line extensions(4)		13,901		5,756
Upgrade/rebuild(5)		18,028		15,662
Support capital(6)		16,160		8,724
Total	$	99,448	$	71,853

(1)	Customer premise equipment includes costs incurred at customer locations, including installation costs and customer premise equipment (e.g., modems and set-top boxes).
(2)	Commercial includes costs related to securing business services customers and PSUs, including small and medium-sized businesses and enterprise customers.
(3)	Scalable infrastructure includes costs not related to customer premise equipment to secure growth of new customers and PSUs or provide service enhancements (e.g., headend equipment).
(4)	Line extensions include network costs associated with entering new service areas (e.g., fiber/coaxial cable, amplifiers, electronic equipment, make-ready and design engineering).
(5)	Upgrade/rebuild includes costs to modify or replace existing fiber/coaxial cable networks, including betterments.
(6)	Support capital includes costs associated with the replacement or enhancement of non-network assets due to technological and physical obsolescence (e.g., non-network equipment, land, buildings and vehicles) and capitalized internal labor costs not associated with customer installation activities.

Contractual Obligations and Contingent Commitments

As of March 31, 2022, there have been no material changes to the contractual obligations and contingent commitments previously disclosed in the 2021 Form 10-K.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements or financing arrangements with special-purpose entities.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

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An accounting policy is considered to be critical if it is important to our results of operations and financial condition and if it requires management’s most difficult, subjective and complex judgments in its application.

There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policy and estimate disclosures described in our 2021 Form 10-K.

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market risk is the potential loss arising from changes in market rates and prices. There have been no material changes to the market risk disclosures described in the 2021 Form 10-K other than as set forth below.

As of March 31, 2022, we had $650.0 million, $575.0 million and $345.0 million aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes, 2026 Notes and 2028 Notes, respectively, outstanding. Although the Senior Notes and 2028 Notes are based on fixed rates and the 2026 Notes do not bear interest, changes in interest rates could impact the fair market value of such notes. As of March 31, 2022, the fair market values of the Senior Notes, 2026 Notes and 2028 Notes were $598.0 million, $505.7 million and $309.9 million, respectively.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act). Disclosure controls and procedures are those controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Company carried out an evaluation as of March 31, 2022 of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(b) and 15d-15(b). Based on the Company’s evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of March 31, 2022.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

As a result of the Hargray Acquisition on May 3, 2021, the Company has incorporated internal controls over financial reporting to include consolidation of Hargray and acquisition-related accounting and disclosures. The Hargray operations utilize separate information and accounting systems and processes, for which the Company has designed and implemented new internal controls effective in the first quarter of 2022.

Except as disclosed above, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II: OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

None.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in the 2021 Form 10-K.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

Certain information relating to common stock repurchases by the Company and any affiliated purchasers within the meaning of Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act during the three months ended March 31, 2022 were as follows (dollars in thousands, except per share data):

							Approximate Dollar
					Total Number of		Value of Shares
					Shares Purchased		that May Yet Be
	Total Number				as Part of Publicly		Purchased Under
	of Shares		Average Price		Announced Plans		the Plans or
Period	Purchased		Paid Per Share		or Programs(1)		Programs
January 1 to 31, 2022(2)		2,681	$	1,743.82		-	$	145,081
February 1 to 28, 2022		-	$	-		-	$	145,081
March 1 to 31, 2022		47,800	$	1,458.06		47,800	$	75,386
Total		50,481	$	1,473.24		47,800

(1)

On July 1, 2015, the Board authorized up to $250.0 million of share repurchases (subject to a total cap of 600,000 shares of common stock), which was announced on August 7, 2015. The authorization does not have an expiration date. Purchases under the share repurchase program may be made from time to time on the open market and in privately negotiated transactions. The size and timing of these purchases are based on a number of factors, including share price and business and market conditions.

(2)

Represents shares withheld from associates to satisfy estimated tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of restricted stock and/or exercises of SARs under the 2015 Plan. The average price paid per share for the common stock withheld was based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the applicable vesting or exercise measurement date.

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

None.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION

Not applicable.

35

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

Exhibit Number	Description
3.1	Amendment to the Amended and Restated By-laws of Cable One, Inc. effective February 14, 2022 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of Cable One, Inc. filed on February 14, 2022).
10.1	Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 31, 2022, to that certain Indenture, dated as of November 9, 2020, by and among Cable One, Inc., the guarantors from time to time party thereto and the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee, relating to the 4.00% Senior Notes due 2030.*
31.1	Principal Executive Officer Certification required by Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
31.2	Principal Financial Officer Certification required by Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
32	Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.**

101.INS	Inline XBRL Instance Document (the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document).
101.SCH	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.*
101.CAL	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.*
101.DEF	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.*
101.LAB	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.*
101.PRE	Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.*
104	The cover page of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, formatted in Inline XBRL (included within the Exhibit 101 attachments).

__________

* Filed herewith.

** Furnished herewith.

36

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Cable One, Inc. (Registrant)
By:	/s/ Julia M. Laulis
	Name:	Julia M. Laulis
	Title:	Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: May 5, 2022

By:	/s/ Steven S. Cochran
	Name:	Steven S. Cochran
	Title:	Chief Financial Officer

Date: May 5, 2022

37

EX-10.1

Exhibit 10.1

EXECUTION VERSION

THIRD SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE

Third Supplemental Indenture (this “Supplemental Indenture”), dated as of March 31, 2022, among Cable One, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”), each of the Guarantors party hereto (the “Guarantors”), and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as trustee (the “Trustee”).

W I T N E S S E T H

WHEREAS, the Issuer and the Guarantors have heretofore executed and delivered to the Trustee an indenture (as heretofore supplemented, the “Indenture”), dated as of November 9, 2020, providing for the issuance of an unlimited aggregate principal amount of 4.00% Senior Notes due 2030 (the “Notes”);

WHEREAS, Section 5.01(3) of the Indenture provides that under certain circumstances each Guarantor shall execute and deliver to the Trustee a supplemental indenture pursuant to which each Guarantor shall confirm that its Note Guarantee shall apply to the obligations under the Indenture and the Notes of the surviving or continuing Person in a consolidation or merger of the Issuer with or into another Person;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 8.01 of the Indenture, the Trustee is authorized and is hereby requested to execute and deliver this Supplemental Indenture; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of March 31, 2022, between the Issuer and Valu-Net LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Issuer (“Valu-Net”), effective as of March 31, 2022, Valu-Net shall merge with and into the Issuer with the Issuer surviving as the surviving corporation (the “Merger”).

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and for other good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties mutually covenant and agree as follows:

(1)         Capitalized Terms. Capitalized terms used herein but not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.

(2)         Guarantee Confirmation. Each Guarantor by executing this Supplemental Indenture hereby confirms that its Note Guarantee shall continue to apply to the Issuer’s obligations under the Indenture and the Notes.

(3)         Governing Law. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE WILL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

(4)         Counterparts. The exchange of copies of this Supplemental Indenture and of signature pages by facsimile or electronic (i.e., “pdf” or “tif”) transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Supplemental Indenture as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Supplemental Indenture for all purposes. The exchange of copies of this Supplemental Indenture and of signature pages that are executed by manual signatures that are scanned, photocopied or faxed or by other electronic signing created on an electronic platform (such as DocuSign) or by digital signing (such as Adobe Sign) shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Supplemental Indenture for all purposes. Signatures of the parties hereto that are executed by manual signatures that are scanned, photocopied or faxed or by other electronic signing created on an electronic platform (such as DocuSign) or by digital signing (such as Adobe Sign) shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes of this Supplemental Indenture as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original.

(5)         Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience of reference only, and are not to be considered part of this Supplemental Indenture and shall in no way modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions.

(6)         The Trustee. The Trustee shall not be responsible in any manner whatsoever for or in respect of the validity, adequacy or sufficiency of this Supplemental Indenture or for or in respect of the recitals and statements contained herein, all of which recitals and statements are made solely by the Issuer and the Guarantors and not by the Trustee, and the Trustee assumes no responsibility for their correctness.

(7)         Benefits Acknowledged. Each Guarantor’s Note Guarantee is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Indenture. Each Guarantor acknowledges that it will receive direct and indirect benefits from the financing arrangements contemplated by the Indenture and that the guarantee and waivers made by it pursuant to this its Note Guarantee are knowingly made in contemplation of such benefits.

[Signature pages follow]

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Supplemental Indenture to be duly executed, all as of the date first above written.

CABLE ONE VOIP LLC

COBRIDGE COMMUNICATIONS LLC

COBRIDGE BROADBAND, LLC

FIDELITY CABLEVISION, LLC

FIDELITY TELEPHONE LLC

LIGHTHOUSE SUB LLC

HARGRAY ACQUISITION HOLDINGS LLC

HARGRAY INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS, LLC

HARGRAY INVESTMENT I CORP.

HCP ACQUISITION LLC

HARGRAY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.

HARGRAY COLOCATION SERVICES LLC

LOW COUNTRY CARRIERS, INC.

LOW COUNTRY TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.

HARGRAY TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.

BLUFFTON TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.

HARGRAY CATV COMPANY, INC.

HARGRAY, INC.

COMSOUTH, LLC

COMSOUTH TELECOMMUNICATIONS INC.

COMSOUTH TELESYS, INC.

COMSOUTH TELESERVICES, INC.

COMSOUTH TELEDATA, INC.

COMSOUTH TELENET, LLC

HARGRAY DATA CENTER SERVICES LLC

HARGRAY OF ALABAMA, INC.

HARGRAY OF TALLAHASSEE LLC

By:         /s/ Kenneth E. Johnson
Name:         Kenneth E. Johnson
Title:           Vice President

CABLE ONE, INC.

By          /s/ Kenneth E. Johnson

Name:         Kenneth E. Johnson

Title:           Senior Vice President, Technology Services

THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., as Trustee

By           /s/ April Bradley

Name:          April Bradley

Title:            Vice President

EX-31.1

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION

I, Julia M. Laulis, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022 of Cable One, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: May 5, 2022

/s/ Julia M. Laulis

Julia M. Laulis

Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

EX-31.2

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATION

I, Steven S. Cochran, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022 of Cable One, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: May 5, 2022

/s/ Steven S. Cochran

Steven S. Cochran

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

EX-32

Exhibit 32

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Cable One, Inc. (the “Company”), for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), each of the undersigned, Julia M. Laulis, principal executive officer of the Company, and Steven S. Cochran, principal financial officer of the Company, hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to his or her knowledge:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

By:	/s/ Julia M. Laulis
	Julia M. Laulis
	Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
	(Principal Executive Officer)
Date: May 5, 2022

By:	/s/ Steven S. Cochran
	Steven S. Cochran
	Chief Financial Officer
	(Principal Financial Officer)
Date: May 5, 2022

XML

Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Apr. 29, 2022
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Central Index Key	0001632127
Entity Registrant Name	CABLE ONE, INC.
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2022
Document Type	10-Q
Document Quarterly Report	true
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2022
Document Transition Report	false
Entity File Number	001-36863
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Tax Identification Number	13-3060083
Entity Address, Address Line One	210 E. Earll Drive
Entity Address, City or Town	Phoenix
Entity Address, State or Province	AZ
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	85012
City Area Code	602
Local Phone Number	364-6000
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, par value $0.01
Trading Symbol	CABO
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
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 Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		5,992,786

XML

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 368,166	$ 388,802
Accounts receivable, net	50,146	56,253
Income taxes receivable	8,051	24,193
Prepaid and other current assets	41,015	31,705
Total Current Assets	467,378	500,953
Equity investments	1,177,332	727,565
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,602,493	1,854,104
Total intangible assets, net	2,744,906	2,861,137
Goodwill	927,981	967,913
Other noncurrent assets	39,330	42,322
Total Assets	6,959,420	6,953,994
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	182,251	203,387
Deferred revenue	23,956	26,851
Current portion of long-term debt	43,105	38,837
Total Current Liabilities	249,312	269,075
Long-term debt	3,788,764	3,799,500
Deferred income taxes	896,374	854,156
Interest rate swap liability	21,390	81,627
Other noncurrent liabilities	67,433	156,541
Total Liabilities	5,023,273	5,160,899
Commitments and contingencies (refer to note 16)
Stockholders' Equity
Preferred stock ($0.01 par value; 4,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding)	0	0
Common stock ($0.01 par value; 40,000,000 shares authorized; 6,175,399 shares issued; and 6,011,790 and 6,046,362 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively)	62	62
Additional paid-in capital	560,845	555,640
Retained earnings	1,611,357	1,456,543
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(25,391)	(82,795)
Treasury stock, at cost (163,609 and 129,037 shares held as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively)	(210,726)	(136,355)
Total Stockholders' Equity	1,936,147	1,793,095
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	$ 6,959,420	$ 6,953,994

XML

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (Parentheticals) - $ / shares	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)	4,000,000	4,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	40,000,000	40,000,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	6,175,399	6,175,399
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	6,011,790	6,046,362
Treasury stock, shares (in shares)	163,609	129,037

XML

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Revenues	$ 426,726	$ 341,262
Costs and Expenses:
Operating (excluding depreciation and amortization)	119,421	101,464
Selling, general and administrative	87,766	69,042
Depreciation and amortization	87,919	68,530
(Gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, net	2,490	(120)
(Gain) loss on sale of business	(22,087)	0
Total Costs and Expenses	275,509	238,916
Income from operations	151,217	102,346
Interest expense	(30,080)	(23,581)
Other income (expense), net	88,060	8,100
Income before income taxes and equity method investment income (loss), net	209,197	86,865
Income tax provision	41,501	17,715
Income before equity method investment income (loss), net	167,696	69,150
Equity method investment income (loss), net	3,780	(568)
Net income	$ 171,476	$ 68,582
Net income per common share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 28.49	$ 11.41
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 26.85	$ 11.19
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	6,018,881	6,012,402
Diluted (in shares)	6,444,963	6,168,261
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax	$ 57,404	$ 55,467
Comprehensive income	$ 228,880	$ 124,049

XML

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Common Stock Outstanding [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Total
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2020	6,027,704
Balance at Dec. 31, 2020	$ 62	$ 535,586	$ 1,228,172	$ (140,683)	$ (127,838)	$ 1,495,299
Net income			68,582			68,582
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax				55,467		55,467
Equity-based compensation		4,127				4,127
Issuance of equity awards, net of forfeitures (in shares)	10,398
Issuance of equity awards, net of forfeitures	$ 0	0	0	0	0	$ 0
Withholding tax for equity awards (in shares)	(3,493)					(3,493)
Withholding tax for equity awards					(7,741)	$ (7,741)
Dividends paid to stockholders			(15,087)			(15,087)
Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2021	6,034,609
Balance at Mar. 31, 2021	$ 62	539,713	1,281,667	(85,216)	(135,579)	1,600,647
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2021	6,046,362
Balance at Dec. 31, 2021	$ 62	555,640	1,456,543	(82,795)	(136,355)	1,793,095
Net income			171,476			171,476
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges and other, net of tax				57,404		57,404
Equity-based compensation		5,205				5,205
Issuance of equity awards, net of forfeitures (in shares)	15,909
Issuance of equity awards, net of forfeitures	$ 0	0	0	0	0	$ 0
Repurchases of common stock (in shares)	(47,800)					(47,800)
Repurchases of common stock	$ 0	0	0	0	(69,695)	$ (69,695)
Withholding tax for equity awards (in shares)	(2,681)					(2,681)
Withholding tax for equity awards					(4,676)	$ (4,676)
Dividends paid to stockholders			(16,662)			(16,662)
Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2022	6,011,790
Balance at Mar. 31, 2022	$ 62	$ 560,845	$ 1,611,357	$ (25,391)	$ (210,726)	$ 1,936,147

XML

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity (Unaudited) (Parentheticals) - $ / shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Retained Earnings [Member]
Dividends, per share (in dollars per share)	$ 2.75	$ 2.50

XML

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$ 171,476	$ 68,582
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	87,919	68,530
Non-cash interest expense	2,373	1,432
Equity-based compensation	5,205	4,127
Write-off of debt issuance costs	0	487
Change in deferred income taxes	23,788	7,131
(Gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, net	2,490	(120)
Gain on sale of business	(22,087)	0
Equity method investment (income) loss, net	(3,780)	568
Fair value adjustments	(84,735)	(5,560)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net	3,289	8,416
Income taxes receivable	16,142	26,132
Prepaid and other current assets	(13,408)	(12,348)
Account payable and accrued liabilities	(447)	(3,042)
Deferred revenue	(115)	2,568
Other	609	(2,910)
Net cash provided by operating activities	188,719	163,993
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash paid for debt and equity investments	(10,673)	0
Capital expenditures	(99,448)	(71,853)
Change in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures	225	5,004
Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment	250	151
Net cash used in investing activities	(109,646)	(66,698)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt borrowings	0	895,850
Payment of debt issuance costs	0	(1,291)
Payments on long-term debt	(8,676)	(6,637)
Repurchases of common stock	(69,695)	0
Payment of withholding tax for equity awards	(4,676)	(7,741)
Dividends paid to stockholders	(16,662)	(15,087)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(99,709)	865,094
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	(20,636)	962,389
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	388,802	574,909
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	368,166	1,537,298
Supplemental cash flow disclosures:
Cash paid for interest, net of capitalized interest	22,393	15,118
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received	$ (42)	$ (15,586)

XML

Note 1 - Description of Business

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]

1.      DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Description of Business. Cable One is a fully integrated provider of data, video and voice services to residential and business customers in 24 Western, Midwestern and Southern U.S. states. Cable One provided service to approximately 1.1 million residential and business customers, of which approximately 1,057,000 subscribed to data services, 238,000 subscribed to video services and 143,000 subscribed to voice services, as of March 31, 2022.

On October 1, 2020, the Company contributed its Anniston, Alabama system (the “Anniston System”) to Hargray in exchange for an approximately 15% equity interest in Hargray on a fully diluted basis (the “Anniston Exchange”). On May 3, 2021, the Company acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that it did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price, which implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The all-cash transaction was funded through a combination of cash on hand and proceeds from new indebtedness. Refer to note 2 for further details on this transaction.

On  December 30, 2021, the Company acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities from Cable America Missouri, LLC, a data, video and voice services provider in central Missouri ("CableAmerica"), for $113.1 million in cash on a debt-free basis. The all-cash transaction was financed with cash on hand. Refer to note 2 for further details on this transaction.

On  January 1, 2022, the Company closed a joint venture transaction in which the Company contributed certain fiber operations (including certain fiber assets of Hargray and a majority of the operations of Delta Communications, L.L.C. ("Clearwave")) (the "Clearwave Fiber Contribution") and certain unaffiliated third-party investors contributed cash to a newly formed entity, Clearwave Fiber LLC ("Clearwave Fiber"). The operations contributed by the Company generated approximately 3% of Cable One's consolidated revenues for the three months ended  December 31, 2021. The Company's approximately 58% investment in Clearwave Fiber was valued at $440.0 million as of the closing date. Clearwave Fiber is intended to accelerate deployment of fiber internet to residents and businesses in existing markets and near-adjacent areas, as well as to provide connectivity to unserved and underserved areas in such markets via fiber-to-the-premises service. Clearwave Fiber is reported on Cable One’s balance sheet under the equity method of accounting, with the proportionate share of its net income (loss) each period reflected within Cable One's operating results on a one quarter lag. Refer to note 5 for further details on this transaction and on the Company’s other equity investments.

Basis of Presentation. The condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto have been prepared in accordance with: (i) generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information; and (ii) the guidance of Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), for financial statements required to be filed with the SEC. As permitted under such guidance, certain notes and other financial information normally required by GAAP have been omitted. Management believes the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all normal and recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented herein. These condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the 2021 Form 10-K.

The December 31, 2021 year-end balance sheet data presented herein was derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2021 Form 10-K, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The Company’s interim results of operations may not be indicative of its future results.

Principles of Consolidation. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, including its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Reporting. Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 280 - Segment Reporting requires the disclosure of factors used to identify an entity’s reportable segments. Based on the Company’s chief operating decision maker’s review and assessment of the Company’s operating performance for purposes of performance monitoring and resource allocation, the Company determined that its operations, including the decisions to allocate resources and deploy capital, are organized and managed on a consolidated basis. Accordingly, management has identified one operating segment, which is its reportable segment, under this organizational and reporting structure.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported herein. Management bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in future periods may be affected by changes in those estimates and underlying assumptions.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In  November 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2021-10, Government Assistance (Topic 832): Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance. ASU 2021-10 requires additional disclosure around the type of any government assistance received and its impact on the consolidated financial statements. The Company adopted the updated guidance in the first quarter of 2022. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In  October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2021-08 requires entities to apply existing revenue recognition guidance when recognizing and measuring contract assets acquired and contract liabilities assumed in a business combination. The Company adopted the updated guidance in the first quarter of 2022. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued But Not Yet Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. ASU 2020-04 provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference LIBOR and other reference rates that are to be discontinued. The ASU may be adopted at any time through December 31, 2022. The Company currently holds certain debt and interest rate swaps that reference LIBOR. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2020-04 when the contracts underlying such instruments are amended as a result of reference rate reform. The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

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Note 2 - Acquisitions

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block]

2.      ACQUISITIONS

The Company accounts for certain acquisitions as business combinations pursuant to ASC 805. In accordance with ASC 805, the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to assign fair value to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date based on the information that is available as of the acquisition date. The Company believes that the information available provides a reasonable basis for estimating the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed for each acquisition, however, preliminary measurements of fair value for each acquisition are subject to change during the measurement period, and such changes could be material. The Company expects to finalize the valuation after each acquisition as soon as practicable but no later than one year after the acquisition date.

Goodwill is calculated as the excess of the consideration transferred over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired in a business combination and represents the future economic benefits expected to arise from anticipated synergies and intangible assets that do not qualify for separate recognition, including an assembled workforce, noncontractual relationships and other agreements. As an indefinite-lived asset, goodwill is not amortized but rather is subject to impairment testing on at least an annual basis.

Acquisition costs incurred by the Company are not included as components of consideration transferred and instead are accounted for as expenses in the period in which the costs are incurred. The Company incurred $1.3 million and $4.4 million of acquisition costs during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. These costs are included in selling, general and administrative expenses within the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

The following acquisitions occurred during the periods presented:

CableAmerica. On  December 30, 2021, the Company acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of CableAmerica, a data, video and voice services provider in central Missouri, for a preliminary purchase price of $113.1 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

Acquired identifiable intangible assets associated with the CableAmerica acquisition consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

			Useful Life
	Fair Value		(in years)
Customer relationships	$	15,400		14.0
Trademark and trade name	$	500		3.0
Franchise agreements	$	49,600	Indefinite

Customer relationships and franchise agreements were valued using the multi-period excess earnings method (“MPEEM”) of the income approach. Significant assumptions used in the valuations include projected revenue growth rates, customer attrition rates, future earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA” and as adjusted, “Adjusted EBITDA”) margins, future capital expenditures and appropriate discount rates. No residual value was assigned to the acquired customer relationships, trademark and trade name or franchise agreements. The customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated basis commensurate with future anticipated cash flows. The trademark and trade name are amortized on a straight-line basis. The total weighted average amortization period for the acquired finite-lived intangible assets is 13.7 years.

The CableAmerica acquisition resulted in the recognition of $25.6 million of goodwill, which is deductible for tax purposes.

Hargray. On May 3, 2021, the Company acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray, a data, video and voice services provider, that it did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price, which implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis. 

The following table summarizes the allocation of the Hargray purchase price consideration as of the acquisition date, reflecting immaterial measurement period adjustments (in thousands):

	Initial Purchase Price Allocation		Measurement Period Adjustments			Purchase Price Allocation
Assets Acquired
Cash and cash equivalents	$	17,652	$	-		$	17,652
Accounts receivable		17,991		(62	)		17,929
Income taxes receivable		-		720			720
Prepaid and other current assets		8,006		-			8,006
Property, plant and equipment		457,158		(525	)		456,633
Intangible assets		1,592,000		-			1,592,000
Other noncurrent assets		4,636		2,940			7,576
Total Assets Acquired		2,097,443		3,073			2,100,516
Liabilities Assumed
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		36,457		1,770			38,227
Deferred revenue (short-term portion)		8,462		-			8,462
Current portion of long-term debt		1,375		(1,375	)		-
Long-term debt		2,912		(2,912	)		-
Deferred income taxes		437,725		923			438,648
Other noncurrent liabilities		6,974		2,912			9,886
Total Liabilities Assumed		493,905		1,318			495,223
Net assets acquired		1,603,538		1,755			1,605,293
Purchase price consideration(1)		2,117,866		(756	)		2,117,110
Goodwill recognized	$	514,328	$	(2,511	)	$	511,817

⁽¹⁾ Consists of approximately $2.0 billion of cash for the additional approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that the Company did not already own and the $146.6 million May 3, 2021 fair value of the Company’s existing approximately 15% equity investment in Hargray. The Company recognized a $33.4 million non-cash gain within other income in the condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income upon the acquisition, representing the difference between the existing equity investment’s fair value and $113.2 million carrying value. The fair value of the existing investment was calculated as approximately 15% of the fair value of Hargray’s total equity value (determined using the discounted cash flow method of the income approach, less debt), excluding the impact of any synergies or control premium that would be realized by a controlling interest.

Acquired identifiable intangible assets associated with the Hargray Acquisition consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

			Useful Life
	Fair Value		(in years)
Customer relationships	$	472,000		13.7
Trademark and trade name	$	10,000		4.2
Franchise agreements	$	1,110,000	Indefinite

Customer relationships and franchise agreements were valued using the MPEEM of the income approach. Significant assumptions used in the valuations include projected revenue growth rates, customer attrition rates, future EBITDA margins, future capital expenditures and appropriate discount rates. No residual value was assigned to the acquired customer relationships, trademark and trade name or franchise agreements. The customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated basis commensurate with future anticipated cash flows. The trademark and trade name are amortized on a straight-line basis. The total weighted average amortization period for the acquired finite-lived intangible assets is 13.5 years.

The Hargray Acquisition resulted in the recognition of $511.8 million of goodwill, which is not deductible for tax purposes.

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Note 3 - Revenues

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block]

3.      REVENUES

Revenues by product line and other revenue-related disclosures were as follows (in thousands):   

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2022		2021
Residential:
Data	$	230,153	$	183,605
Video		84,658		76,017
Voice		11,896		10,477
Business services		76,498		60,362
Other		23,521		10,801
Total revenues	$	426,726	$	341,262
Franchise and other regulatory fees	$	8,094	$	6,152
Deferred commission amortization	$	1,253	$	1,468

Other revenues are comprised primarily of regulatory revenues, advertising sales, late charges and reconnect fees.

Fees imposed on the Company by various governmental authorities, including franchise fees, are passed through on a monthly basis to the Company’s customers and are periodically remitted to authorities. As the Company acts as principal, these fees are reported in video and voice revenues on a gross basis with corresponding expenses included within operating expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

Deferred commission amortization expense is included within selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

Current deferred revenue liabilities consist of refundable customer prepayments, up-front charges and installation fees. As of March 31, 2022, the Company’s remaining performance obligations pertain to the refundable customer prepayments and consist of providing future data, video and voice services to customers. Of the $26.9 million of current deferred revenue at December 31, 2021, $22.1 million was recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2022. Noncurrent deferred revenue liabilities consist of up-front charges and installation fees from business customers.

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Operating Assets and Liabilities [Text Block]

4.      OPERATING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

Accounts receivable consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Trade receivables	$	38,192		$	41,947
Other receivables		14,534			16,847
Less: Allowance for credit losses		(2,580	)		(2,541	)
Total accounts receivable, net	$	50,146		$	56,253

The changes in the allowance for credit losses were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022			2021
Beginning balance	$	2,541		$	1,252
Additions - charged to costs and expenses		1,718			643
Deductions - write-offs		(3,261	)		(2,451	)
Recoveries collected		1,582			1,930
Ending balance	$	2,580		$	1,374

Prepaid and other current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Prepaid repairs and maintenance	$	11,091	$	4,788
Software implementation costs		1,336		1,199
Prepaid insurance		1,637		3,325
Prepaid rent		3,187		2,107
Prepaid software		7,820		6,982
Deferred commissions		3,609		4,295
All other current assets		12,335		9,009
Total prepaid and other current assets	$	41,015	$	31,705

Other noncurrent assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	12,354	$	15,501
Deferred commissions		8,673		8,624
Software implementation costs		7,457		7,782
Debt issuance costs		2,410		2,576
Debt investment		2,000		-
Assets held for sale		3,896		3,819
All other noncurrent assets		2,540		4,020
Total other noncurrent assets	$	39,330	$	42,322

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Accounts payable	$	35,640	$	35,716
Accrued programming costs		24,425		23,703
Accrued compensation and related benefits		24,833		34,731
Accrued sales and other operating taxes		8,879		12,872
Accrued franchise fees		3,734		4,397
Deposits		6,796		6,840
Operating lease liabilities		4,386		5,633
Interest rate swap liability		11,068		26,662
Accrued insurance costs		5,307		5,542
Cash overdrafts		13,479		11,517
Equity investment payable(1)		10,087		13,387
Interest payable		10,414		5,172
All other accrued liabilities		23,203		17,215
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	182,251	$	203,387

⁽¹⁾ Consists of the unfunded portion of the Company’s equity investment in Wisper ISP, LLC (“Wisper”). In March 2022, the Company funded $3.3 million of the then outstanding investment payable to Wisper. Refer to note 5 for details on this investment.

Other noncurrent liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Operating lease liabilities	$	7,235	$	9,098
Accrued compensation and related benefits		10,218		11,010
Deferred revenue		6,358		6,854
MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5)(1)		39,010		123,620
All other noncurrent liabilities		4,612		5,959
Total other noncurrent liabilities	$	67,433	$	156,541

⁽¹⁾ Represents the net value of the Company’s call and put options associated with the remaining equity interests in MBI (as defined in note 5), consisting of an asset of $27.6 million and a liability of $66.6 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2022 and a liability of $17.8 million and a liability of $105.8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2021. Refer to notes 5 and 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5).

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Note 5 - Equity Investments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Investment [Text Block]

5.     EQUITY INVESTMENTS

On May 4, 2020, the Company made a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC, a wireless internet service provider (“Nextlink”), for $27.2 million. On July 10, 2020, the Company acquired a 40.4% minority equity interest in Wisper, a wireless internet service provider, for total consideration of $25.3 million. The Company has funded $15.2 million of the total consideration for Wisper and expects to fund the remainder within the next twelve months. On October 1, 2020, the Company contributed the Anniston System to Hargray, a data, video and voice services provider, in exchange for an approximately 15% equity interest in Hargray on a fully diluted basis and recognized an $82.6 million non-cash gain. On November 12, 2020, the Company acquired a 45.0% minority equity interest in Mega Broadband Investments Holdings LLC, a data, video and voice services provider (“MBI”), for $574.9 million in cash.

On May 3, 2021, the Company acquired the remaining approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that it did not already own for an approximately $2.0 billion cash purchase price, which implied a $2.2 billion total enterprise value for Hargray on a cash-free and debt-free basis, and recognized a $33.4 million non-cash gain as a result of the fair value remeasurement of the Company’s existing equity interest on the acquisition date. On   October 1, 2021, the Company made a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in Point Broadband Holdings, LLC, a fiber internet service provider ("Point Broadband"), for $25.0 million. On  October 18, 2021, the Company completed a minority equity investment for a less than 10% ownership interest in Tristar Acquisition I Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company ("Tristar"), for $20.8 million. On  November 5, 2021, the Company invested an additional $50.0 million to acquire preferred units in Nextlink, increasing its equity interest to approximately 17%.

On  January 1, 2022, the Company closed a joint venture transaction in which the Company contributed certain fiber operations (including certain fiber assets of Hargray) and certain unaffiliated third-party investors contributed cash to a newly formed entity, Clearwave Fiber. The operations contributed by the Company generated approximately 3% of Cable One's consolidated revenues for the three months ended  December 31, 2021. The Company's approximately 58% investment in Clearwave Fiber was valued at $440.0 million as of the closing date. The Company recognized a non-cash gain of $22.1 million associated with this transaction. On March 1, 2022, the Company funded Wisper $3.3 million of the then outstanding investment payable. On March 24, 2022, the Company invested an additional $5.4 million in Point Broadband, increasing its equity interest to approximately 7%.

The carrying value of the Company’s equity investments without readily determinable fair values are determined based on fair valuations as of their respective acquisition dates. As Tristar is publicly traded, the carrying value of the Company's Tristar investment is remeasured to fair value on a quarterly basis using market information.

The carrying value of the Company's equity investments consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

	Ownership	March 31,		December 31,
	Percentage	2022		2021
Cost Method Investments
Nextlink	<20%	$	77,245	$	77,245
Point Broadband	<10%		30,373		25,000
Tristar	<10%		23,208		23,083
Others	<10%		13,658		13,170
Total cost method investments		$	144,484	$	138,498
Equity Method Investments
Clearwave Fiber	~58%	$	440,000	$	-
MBI(1)	45.0%		560,496		557,715
Wisper	40.4%		32,352		31,352
Total equity method investments		$	1,032,848	$	589,067
Total equity investments		$	1,177,332	$	727,565

⁽¹⁾ The Company holds a call option to purchase all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. If the call option is not exercised, certain investors in MBI hold a put option to sell (and to cause all members of MBI other than the Company to sell) to the Company all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between July 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025. The call and put options (collectively referred to as the “MBI Net Option”) are measured at fair value using Monte Carlo simulations that rely on assumptions around MBI’s equity value, MBI’s and the Company’s equity volatility, MBI’s and the Company’s EBITDA volatility, risk adjusted discount rates and the Company’s cost of debt, among others. The final MBI purchase price allocation resulted in $630.7 million being allocated to the MBI equity investment and $19.7 million and $75.5 million being allocated to the call and put options, respectively. The MBI Net Option is remeasured at fair value on a quarterly basis. The carrying value of the MBI Net Option liability was $39.0 million and $123.6 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, and was included within other noncurrent liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Refer to note 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option.

The carrying value of MBI exceeded the Company’s underlying equity in MBI’s net assets by approximately $502.9 million and $508.3 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.

Equity method investment income (losses), which increase (decrease) the carrying value of the respective investment, and which are recorded on a one quarter lag, and the change in fair value of the MBI Net Option were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Equity Method Investment Income (Loss)
MBI(1)	$	2,781	$	(1,214	)
Wisper		999		646
Total	$	3,780	$	(568	)
Other Income (Expense), Net
MBI Net Option change in fair value	$	84,610	$	5,560

⁽¹⁾ The Company identified a $186.6 million difference between the fair values of certain of MBI’s finite-lived intangible assets and the respective carrying values recorded by MBI, of which $84.0 million was attributable to the Company’s 45% pro rata portion. The Company is amortizing its share on an accelerated basis over the lives of the respective assets. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company recognized $6.7 million of its pro rata share of MBI’s net income and $4.0 million of its pro rata share of basis difference amortization. For the three months ended  March 31, 2021, the Company recognized $1.4 million of its pro rata share of MBI’s net income and $2.7 million of its pro rata share of basis difference amortization.

The Company assesses each equity investment for indicators of impairment on a quarterly basis. No impairments were recorded for any of the periods presented.

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Note 6 - Property, Plant and Equipment

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]

6.      PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Property, plant and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):  

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Cable distribution systems	$	2,291,433		$	2,509,795
Customer premise equipment		323,982			320,937
Other equipment and fixtures		464,784			472,319
Buildings and improvements		138,436			142,754
Capitalized software		91,802			89,662
Construction in progress		167,104			172,706
Land		12,363			12,134
Right-of-use assets		11,241			11,241
Property, plant and equipment, gross		3,501,145			3,731,548
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,898,652	)		(1,877,444	)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	1,602,493		$	1,854,104

The Company contributed $280.0 million of property, plant and equipment to the Clearwave Fiber joint venture on January 1, 2022.

The Company classified $3.9 million of property, plant and equipment as held for sale as of March 31, 2022. Such assets are included within other noncurrent assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Depreciation and amortization expense for property, plant and equipment was $67.1 million and $58.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

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Note 7 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Text Block]

7.      GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The carrying amount of goodwill was $928.0 million at March 31, 2022 and $967.9 at December 31, 2021, with the $39.9 million decrease attributable to goodwill divested in the Clearwave Fiber transaction on January 1, 2022. The Company has not historically recorded any impairment of goodwill.

Intangible assets consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):   

		March 31, 2022						December 31, 2021
	Useful Life	Gross				Net		Gross				Net
	Range	Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying		Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying
	(in years)	Amount		Amortization		Amount		Amount		Amortization		Amount
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets
Customer relationships	13.5 – 17	$	788,042	$	164,237	$	623,805	$	857,100	$	153,699	$	703,401
Trademarks and trade names	2.7 – 4.2		11,922		4,429		7,493		13,500		3,852		9,648
Wireless licenses	10 – 15		1,418		178		1,240		1,418		142		1,276
Total finite-lived intangible assets		$	801,382	$	168,844	$	632,538	$	872,018	$	157,693	$	714,325
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Franchise agreements						$	2,111,568					$	2,139,312
Trade names							800						7,500
Total indefinite-lived intangible assets						$	2,112,368					$	2,146,812
Total intangible assets, net						$	2,744,906					$	2,861,137

The $116.2 million decrease in the net carrying amount of intangible assets from December 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022 included $59.7 million of customer relationships, $8.1 million of trademarks and trade names and $27.7 million of franchise agreements divested in the Clearwave Fiber transaction on January 1, 2022.

Intangible asset amortization expense was $20.8 million and $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The future amortization of existing finite-lived intangible assets as of March 31, 2022 was as follows (in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,	Amount
2022 (remaining nine months)	$	63,181
2023		73,111
2024		66,307
2025		61,279
2026		55,681
Thereafter		312,979
Total	$	632,538

Actual amortization expense in future periods may differ from the amounts above as a result of intangible asset acquisitions or divestitures, changes in useful life estimates, impairments or other relevant factors.

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Note 8 - Debt

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Long-Term Debt [Text Block]

8.      DEBT

The carrying amount of long-term debt consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Senior Credit Facilities (as defined below)	$	2,303,458		$	2,311,890
Senior Notes (as defined below)		650,000			650,000
Convertible Notes (as defined below)		920,000			920,000
Finance lease liabilities		5,378			5,621
Total debt		3,878,836			3,887,511
Less: Unamortized debt discount		(19,544	)		(20,602	)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs		(27,423	)		(28,572	)
Less: Current portion of long-term debt		(43,105	)		(38,837	)
Total long-term debt	$	3,788,764		$	3,799,500

Senior Credit Facilities. The Company has in place a credit agreement (the "Credit Agreement") that provides for senior secured term loans in original aggregate principal amounts of $700.0 million maturing in 2025 (the “Term Loan A-2”), $250.0 million maturing in 2027 (the “Term Loan B-2”), $625.0 million maturing in 2027 (the “Term Loan B-3”) and $800.0 million maturing in 2028 (the "Term Loan B-4"), as well as a $500.0 million revolving credit facility maturing in 2025 (the “Revolving Credit Facility” and, together with the Term Loan A-2, the Term Loan B-2, the Term Loan B-3 and the Term Loan B-4, the “Senior Credit Facilities”). The Revolving Credit Facility also gives the Company the ability to issue letters of credit, which reduce the amount available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Refer to the table below summarizing the Company’s outstanding term loans as of March 31, 2022 and note 10 to the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2021 Form 10-K for further details on the Senior Credit Facilities.

The Company has issued letters of credit totaling $44.1 million under the Revolving Credit Facility on behalf of Wisper to guarantee its performance obligations under a Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) broadband funding program, as of March 31, 2022. The fair value of the letters of credit approximates face value based on the short-term nature of the agreements. The Company would be liable for up to the total amount outstanding under the letters of credit if Wisper were to fail to satisfy all or some of its performance obligations under the FCC program. Wisper has guaranteed and indemnified the Company in connection with such letters of credit. As of March 31, 2022, the Company has assessed the likelihood of non-performance associated with the guarantee to be remote, and therefore, no liability has been accrued within the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Total letter of credit issuances under the Revolving Credit Facility were  $51.2 million at March 31, 2022 and bore interest at a rate of 1.88% per annum.

As of March 31, 2022, the Company had approximately  $2.3 billion of aggregate outstanding term loans and $448.8 million available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility. A summary of the Company’s outstanding term loans as of March 31, 2022 is as follows (dollars in thousands):

Instrument	Draw Date(s)	Original Principal		Amortization Per Annum(1)	Outstanding Principal		Final Maturity Date	Final Scheduled Principal Payment		Benchmark Rate	Applicable Margin(2)	Interest Rate
Term Loan A-2	5/8/2019(3) 10/1/2019(3)	$	700,000	Varies(4)	$	655,335	10/30/2025	$	476,607	LIBOR	1.75%	2.21%
Term Loan B-2	1/7/2019		250,000	1.0%		242,500	10/30/2027		228,750	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-3	6/14/2019(5) 10/30/2020(5)		625,000	1.0%		611,623	10/30/2027		577,472	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-4	5/3/2021		800,000	1.0%		794,000	5/3/2028		746,000	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Total		$	2,375,000		$	2,303,458		$	2,028,829

(1)	Payable in equal quarterly installments (expressed as a percentage of the original principal amount and subject to customary adjustments in the event of any prepayment). All loans may be prepaid at any time without penalty or premium (subject to customary LIBOR breakage provisions).
(2)	The Term Loan A-2 interest rate spread can vary between 1.25% and 1.75%, determined on a quarterly basis by reference to a pricing grid based on the Company’s Total Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement). All other applicable margins are fixed.
(3)	On May 8, 2019, $250.0 million was drawn. On October 1, 2019, an additional $450.0 million was drawn. On October 30, 2020, the amortization schedule was reset.
(4)	Per annum amortization rates for years one through five following October 30, 2020 are 2.5%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 12.5%, respectively.
(5)	On June 14, 2019, $325.0 million was drawn. On October 30, 2020, an additional $300.0 million was drawn.

Senior Notes. In November 2020, the Company issued $650.0 million aggregate principal amount of 4.00% senior notes due 2030 (the “Senior Notes”). The Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.00% per annum payable semi-annually in arrears on May 15th and November 15th of each year. The terms of the Senior Notes are governed by an indenture dated as of November 9, 2020 (the “Senior Notes Indenture”), among the Company, the guarantors party thereto and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (“BNY”), as trustee.

At any time and from time to time prior to November 15, 2025, the Company may redeem some or all of the Senior Notes for cash at a redemption price equal to 100% of their principal amount, plus the “make-whole” premium described in the Senior Notes Indenture and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date. Beginning on November 15, 2025, the Company may redeem some or all of the Senior Notes at any time and from time to time at the applicable redemption prices listed in the Senior Notes Indenture, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date. In addition, at any time and from time to time prior to November 15, 2023, the Company may redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes with funds in an aggregate amount not exceeding the net cash proceeds from one or more equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 104% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date.

Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control and a Below Investment Grade Rating Event (each as defined in the Senior Notes Indenture), the Company is required to offer to repurchase the Senior Notes at 101% of the principal amount of such Senior Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the date of repurchase.

Convertible Notes. In March 2021, the Company issued $575.0 million aggregate principal amount of 0.000% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”) and $345.0 million aggregate principal amount of 1.125% convertible senior notes due 2028 (the “2028 Notes” and, together with the 2026 Notes, the “Convertible Notes,” and the Convertible Notes collectively with the Senior Notes, the “Notes”). The terms of the 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes are each governed by a separate indenture dated as of March 5, 2021 (collectively, the “Convertible Notes Indentures” and together with the Senior Notes Indenture, the “Indentures”), in each case, among the Company, the guarantors party thereto and BNY, as trustee.

The 2026 Notes do not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the 2026 Notes does not accrete. The 2028 Notes bear interest at a rate of 1.125% per annum. Interest on the 2028 Notes is payable semiannually in arrears on March 15th and September 15th of each year, unless earlier repurchased, converted or redeemed. The 2026 Notes are scheduled to mature on March 15, 2026, and the 2028 Notes are scheduled to mature on March 15, 2028. The initial conversion rate for each of the 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes is 0.4394 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2026 Notes and 2028 Notes, as applicable (equivalent to an initial conversion price of $2,275.83 per share of common stock).

The Convertible Notes are convertible at the option of the holders. The method of conversion into cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination thereof is at the election of the Company. Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2025, the 2026 Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders only upon the satisfaction of specified conditions and during certain periods. On or after December 15, 2025, holders may convert their 2026 Notes at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the relevant maturity date. Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding December 15, 2027, the 2028 Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders only upon the satisfaction of specified conditions and during certain periods. On or after December 15, 2027, holders may convert their 2028 Notes at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the relevant maturity date. If the Company undergoes a “fundamental change” (as defined in the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture), holders of the applicable series of Convertible Notes may require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part of their Convertible Notes of such series at a purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes of such series to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the fundamental change repurchase date.

The Company may not redeem the 2026 Notes prior to March 20, 2024 and it may not redeem the 2028 Notes prior to March 20, 2025. No “sinking fund” is provided for the Convertible Notes. On or after March 20, 2024 and prior to December 15, 2025, the Company may redeem for cash all or any portion of the 2026 Notes, at its option, and on or after March 20, 2025 and prior to December 15, 2027, the Company may redeem for cash all or any portion of the 2028 Notes, at its option, in each case, if the last reported sale price per share of common stock has been at least 130% of the conversion price for such series of Convertible Notes then in effect for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive), including the trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Company provides notice of redemption, during any 30 consecutive trading day period ending on, and including, the trading day immediately preceding the date on which the Company provides notice of redemption at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes of such series to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the redemption date.

In addition, following a “make-whole fundamental change” (as defined in the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture) or if the Company delivers a notice of redemption in respect of any Convertible Notes of a series, in certain circumstances, the conversion rate applicable to such series of Convertible Notes will be increased for a holder who elects to convert any of such Convertible Notes in connection with such a make-whole fundamental change or convert any of such Convertible Notes called (or deemed called) for redemption during the related redemption period, as the case may be.

The carrying amounts of the Convertible Notes consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022									December 31, 2021
	2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total			2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total
Gross carrying amount	$	575,000		$	345,000		$	920,000		$	575,000		$	345,000		$	920,000
Less: Unamortized discount		(11,871	)		(7,673	)		(19,544	)		(12,611	)		(7,991	)		(20,602	)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs		(324	)		(217	)		(541	)		(344	)		(226	)		(570	)
Net carrying amount	$	562,805		$	337,110		$	899,915		$	562,045		$	336,783		$	898,828

Interest expense on the Convertible Notes consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022								2021
	2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total		2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total
Contractual interest expense	$	-		$	970		$	970	$	-		$	291		$	291
Amortization of discount		740			318			1,058		222			95			317
Amortization of debt issuance costs		20			9			29		6			2			8
Total interest expense	$	760		$	1,297		$	2,057	$	228		$	388		$	616
Effective interest rate		0.5	%		1.5	%				0.5	%		1.5	%

General. The Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company and are guaranteed by the Company’s wholly owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantee the Senior Credit Facilities or that guarantee certain capital market debt of the Company in an aggregate principal amount in excess of $250.0 million.

Each Indenture contains covenants that, among other things and subject to certain exceptions, limit (i) the Company’s ability to consolidate or merge with or into another person or sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries (taken as a whole) and (ii) the ability of the guarantors to consolidate with or merge with or into another person. The Senior Notes Indenture also contains a covenant that, subject to certain exceptions, limits the Company’s ability and the ability of its subsidiaries to incur any liens securing indebtedness for borrowed money.

Each Indenture provides for customary events of default which include (subject in certain cases to customary grace and cure periods), among others, default in payment of principal or interest, breach of other agreements or covenants in respect of the relevant Notes by the Company or any guarantors, failure to pay certain other indebtedness at final maturity, acceleration of certain indebtedness prior to final maturity, failure to pay certain final judgments, failure of certain guarantees to be enforceable and certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization; and, in the case of each Convertible Notes Indenture, failure to comply with the Company’s obligation to convert the relevant Convertible Notes under the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture and failure to give a fundamental change notice or a notice of a make-whole fundamental change under the applicable Convertible Notes Indenture.

Unamortized debt issuance costs consisted of the following (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Revolving Credit Facility portion:
Other noncurrent assets	$	2,410	$	2,576
Term loans and Notes portion:
Long-term debt (contra account)		27,423		28,572
Total	$	29,833	$	31,148

The Company recorded debt issuance cost amortization of $1.3 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, within interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

The future maturities of outstanding borrowings as of March 31, 2022 were as follows (in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,	Amount
2022 (remaining nine months)	$	29,554
2023		55,008
2024		76,285
2025		557,147
2026		591,709
Thereafter		2,563,755
Total	$	3,873,458

The Company was in compliance with all debt covenants as of March 31, 2022. 

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Note 9 - Interest Rate Swaps

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]

9.      INTEREST RATE SWAPS

The Company is party to two interest rate swap agreements, designated as cash flow hedges, to manage the risk of fluctuations in interest rates on its variable rate LIBOR debt. Changes in the fair values of the interest rate swaps are reported through other comprehensive income until the underlying hedged debt’s interest expense impacts net income, at which point the corresponding change in fair value is reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to interest expense.

A summary of the significant terms of the Company’s interest rate swap agreements is as follows (dollars in thousands):

	Entry	Effective	Maturity	Notional		Settlement	Settlement	Fixed
	Date	Date	Date(1)	Amount		Type	Frequency	Base Rate
Swap A	3/7/2019	3/11/2019	3/11/2029	$	850,000	Receive one-month LIBOR, pay fixed	Monthly	2.653%
Swap B	3/6/2019	6/15/2020	2/28/2029		350,000	Receive one-month LIBOR, pay fixed	Monthly	2.739%
Total				$	1,200,000

⁽¹⁾ Each swap may be terminated prior to the scheduled maturity at the election of the Company or the financial institution counterparty under the terms provided in each swap agreement.

The combined fair values of the Company’s interest rate swaps are reflected within the condensed consolidated balance sheets as follows (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Liabilities:
Current portion:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	11,068	$	26,662
Noncurrent portion:
Interest rate swap liability	$	21,390	$	81,627
Total	$	32,458	$	108,289
Stockholders’ Equity:
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	24,503	$	81,873

The combined effect of the Company’s interest rate swaps on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income was as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022			2021
Interest expense	$	7,609		$	7,649
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, gross	$	(75,831	)	$	(73,582	)
Less: Tax effect		18,461			18,118
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, net of tax	$	(57,370	)	$	(55,464	)

The Company does not hold any derivative instruments for speculative trading purposes.

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Note 10 - Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

10.     FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Financial Assets and Liabilities. The Company has estimated the fair values of its financial instruments as of March 31, 2022 using available market information or other appropriate valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment is required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the following fair value estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company would realize in an actual market exchange.

The carrying amounts, fair values and related fair value hierarchy levels of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities as of March 31, 2022 were as follows (in thousands):

	March 31, 2022
	Carrying		Fair		Fair Value
	Amount		Value		Hierarchy
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents:
Money market investments	$	313,022	$	313,022	Level 1
Liabilities:
Long-term debt (including current portion):
Term loans	$	2,303,458	$	2,279,580	Level 2
Senior Notes	$	650,000	$	598,000	Level 2
Convertible Notes	$	920,000	$	815,534	Level 2
Interest rate swap liability (including current portion):
Interest rate swaps	$	32,458	$	32,458	Level 2
Other noncurrent liabilities:
MBI Net Option	$	39,010	$	39,010	Level 3

Money market investments are held primarily in U.S. Treasury securities and registered money market funds and are valued using a market approach based on quoted market prices (level 1). Money market investments with original maturities of three months or less are included within cash and cash equivalents in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of the term loans, Senior Notes and Convertible Notes are estimated based on market prices for similar instruments in active markets (level 2). Interest rate swaps are measured at fair value within the condensed consolidated balance sheets on a recurring basis, with fair value determined using standard valuation models with assumptions about interest rates being based on those observed in underlying markets (level 2). The fair value of the MBI Net Option is measured using Monte Carlo simulations that use inputs considered unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement (level 3).

The assumptions used to determine the fair value of the MBI Net Option consisted of the following:

	March 31, 2022						December 31, 2021
	Cable One			MBI			Cable One			MBI
Equity volatility		30.0	%		30.0	%		30.0	%		30.0	%
EBITDA volatility		10.0	%		10.0	%		10.0	%		10.0	%
EBITDA risk-adjusted discount rate		6.5	%		8.0	%		5.0	%		6.5	%
Cost of debt		5.0	%					4.0	%

The Company regularly evaluates each of the assumptions used in establishing the fair value of the MBI Net Option. Significant changes in any of these assumptions could result in a significantly lower or higher fair value measurement. A change in one of these assumptions is not necessarily accompanied by a change in another assumption. Refer to note 5 for further information on the MBI Net Option.

The carrying amounts of accounts receivable, accounts payable and other financial assets and liabilities approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments.

Nonfinancial Assets and Liabilities. The Company’s nonfinancial assets, such as property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and goodwill, are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Assets acquired, including identifiable intangible assets and goodwill, and liabilities assumed in acquisitions are recorded at fair value on the respective acquisition dates, subject to potential future measurement period adjustments. Nonfinancial assets are subject to fair value adjustments when there is evidence that impairment may exist. No material impairments were recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2022 or 2021.

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Note 11 - Stockholders' Equity

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

11.      STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Treasury Stock. Treasury stock is recorded at cost and is presented as a reduction of stockholders’ equity in the condensed consolidated financial statements. Treasury shares of 163,609 held at March 31, 2022 include shares repurchased under the Company’s share repurchase program and shares withheld for withholding tax, as described below.

Share Repurchase Program. On July 1, 2015, the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) authorized up to $250.0 million of share repurchases (subject to a total cap of 600,000 shares of common stock). Purchases under the share repurchase program may be made from time to time on the open market and in privately negotiated transactions. The size and timing of these purchases are based on a number of factors, including share price and business and market conditions. Since the inception of the share repurchase program through March 31, 2022, the Company had repurchased 258,431 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $174.6 million, including 47,800 shares purchased at an aggregate cost of $69.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Tax Withholding for Equity Awards. At the employee’s option, shares of common stock are withheld by the Company upon the vesting of restricted stock and exercise of stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) to cover the applicable statutory minimum amount of employee withholding taxes, which the Company then pays to the taxing authorities in cash. The amounts remitted during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were $4.7 million and $7.7 million, for which the Company withheld 2,681 and 3,493 shares of common stock, respectively.

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Note 12 - Equity-based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Text Block]

12.      EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION 

The Amended and Restated Cable One, Inc. 2015 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2015 Plan”) provides for grants of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards, SARs, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), cash-based awards, performance-based awards, dividend equivalent units (“DEUs” and, together with restricted stock awards and RSUs, “Restricted Stock”) and other stock-based awards, including performance stock units and deferred stock units. Directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company are eligible for grants under the 2015 Plan as part of the Company’s approach to long-term incentive compensation. At March 31, 2022, 61,666 shares were available for issuance under the 2015 Plan.

Compensation expense associated with equity-based awards is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the award, with forfeitures recognized as incurred. The Company’s equity-based compensation expense, included within selling, general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, was as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Restricted Stock	$	4,637	$	3,424
SARs		568		703
Total	$	5,205	$	4,127

The Company recognized excess tax benefits of $0.6 million and $3.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The deferred tax asset related to all outstanding equity-based awards was $4.2 million as of March 31, 2022.

Restricted Stock. A summary of Restricted Stock activity during the three months ended March 31, 2022 is as follows:

				Weighted
				Average Grant
	Restricted			Date Fair Value
	Stock			Per Share
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021		34,026		$	1,487.02
Granted		16,849		$	1,743.82
Forfeited		(940	)	$	1,882.16
Vested and issued		(7,186	)	$	1,164.87
Outstanding as of March 31, 2022		42,749		$	1,633.70
Vested and deferred as of March 31, 2022		5,978		$	756.32

At March 31, 2022, there was $39.9 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to Restricted Stock, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.8 years.

Stock Appreciation Rights. A summary of SARs activity during the three months ended March 31, 2022 is as follows:

										Weighted
						Weighted				Average
				Weighted		Average		Aggregate		Remaining
	Stock			Average		Grant		Intrinsic		Contractual
	Appreciation			Exercise		Date Fair		Value		Term
	Rights			Price		Value		(in thousands)		(in years)
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021		45,740		$	1,075.34	$	263.62	$	32,897		7.1
Granted		-		$	-	$	-	$	-		-
Exercised		-		$	-	$	-	$	-		-
Forfeited		(1,750	)	$	1,492.73	$	375.76
Outstanding as of March 31, 2022		43,990		$	1,058.73	$	259.16	$	22,019		6.8
Exercisable as of March 31, 2022		27,365		$	806.36	$	190.78	$	18,697		6.0

At March 31, 2022, there was $4.8 million of unrecognized compensation expense related to SARs, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.2 years.

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Note 13 - Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

13.      INCOME TAXES

The Company’s effective tax rate was 19.8% and 20.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2022 compared to the prior year quarter was due primarily to a $15.2 million increase in income tax benefit related to a change in the valuation allowance associated with the MBI Net Option, partially offset by a $4.9 million tax expense for the deferred tax liability establishment associated with the Clearwave Fiber Contribution tax outside basis difference and a $3.0 million decrease in excess tax benefit from equity-based compensation awards. 

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Note 14 - Other Income and Expense

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Other Income and Other Expense Disclosure [Text Block]

14.      OTHER INCOME AND EXPENSE

Other income (expense) consisted of the following (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
MBI Net Option fair value adjustment	$	84,610	$	5,560
Write-off of debt issuance costs		-		(487	)
Interest and investment income		3,443		3,225
Mark-to-market adjustments and other		7		(198	)
Other income (expense), net	$	88,060	$	8,100

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Note 15 - Net Income Per Common Share

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Earnings Per Share [Text Block]

15.      NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE

Basic net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. The denominator used in calculating diluted net income per common share further includes any common shares available to be issued upon vesting or exercise of outstanding equity-based compensation awards if such inclusion would be dilutive, calculated using the treasury stock method, and any common shares to be issued upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, calculated using the if-converted method.

The computation of basic and diluted net income per common share was as follows (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Numerator:
Net income - basic	$	171,476	$	68,582
Add: Convertible Notes interest expense, net of tax		1,543		462
Net income - diluted	$	173,019	$	69,044
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic		6,018,881		6,012,402
Effect of dilutive equity-based compensation awards(1)		21,834		40,443
Effect of dilution from if-converted Convertible Notes(2)		404,248		115,416
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted		6,444,963		6,168,261
Net Income per Common Share:
Basic	$	28.49	$	11.41
Diluted	$	26.85	$	11.19
Supplemental Net Income per Common Share Disclosure:
Anti-dilutive shares from equity-based compensation awards(1)		16,319		7,232

(1)	Equity-based compensation awards whose impact is considered to be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method were excluded from the diluted net income per common share calculation.
(2)	Based on a conversion rate of 0.4394 shares of common stock per weighted $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes outstanding during both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.

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Note 16 - Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

16.      COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Contractual Obligations. The Company has obligations to make future payments for goods and services under certain contractual arrangements. These contractual obligations secure the future rights to various goods and services to be used in the normal course of the Company’s operations. In accordance with applicable accounting rules, the future rights and obligations pertaining to firm commitments, such as certain purchase obligations under contracts, are not reflected as assets or liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2022, there have been no material changes to the contractual obligations previously disclosed in the 2021 Form 10-K.

In addition, the Company incurs recurring utility pole rental costs and fees imposed by various governmental authorities, including franchise fees, as part of its operations. However, these costs are not included in the Company’s contractual obligations as they are cancellable on short notice, in the case of pole rental costs, or are passed through on a monthly basis to the Company’s customers and are periodically remitted to authorities, in the case of fees imposed by governmental authorities. The Company also has franchise agreements requiring plant construction and the provision of services to customers within the franchise areas. In connection with these obligations under existing franchise agreements, the Company obtains surety bonds or letters of credit guaranteeing performance to municipalities and public utilities and payment of insurance premiums. Payments under these arrangements are required only in the remote event of nonperformance. The Company issued letters of credit totaling $44.1 million on behalf of Wisper to guarantee its performance obligations under an FCC broadband funding program. As of March 31, 2022, the Company has assessed the likelihood of non-performance associated with the guarantee to be remote, and therefore, no liability has been accrued within the condensed consolidated balance sheet. Refer to note 8 for further details on this transaction.

Litigation and Legal Matters. The Company is subject to complaints and administrative proceedings and has been a defendant in various civil lawsuits that have arisen in the ordinary course of its business. Such matters include contract disputes; actions alleging negligence, invasion of privacy, trademark, copyright and patent infringement, and violations of applicable wage and hour laws; statutory or common law claims involving current and former employees; and other matters. Although the outcomes of any legal claims and proceedings against the Company cannot be predicted with certainty, based on currently available information, the Company believes that there are no existing claims or proceedings that are likely to have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Regulation in the Company’ s Industry. The Company’s operations are extensively regulated by the FCC, some state governments and most local governments. The FCC has the authority to enforce its regulations through the imposition of substantial fines, the issuance of cease and desist orders and/or the imposition of other administrative sanctions, such as the revocation of FCC licenses needed to operate certain transmission facilities used in connection with cable operations. Future legislative and regulatory changes could adversely affect the Company’s operations .

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Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation. The condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto have been prepared in accordance with: (i) generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information; and (ii) the guidance of Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), for financial statements required to be filed with the SEC. As permitted under such guidance, certain notes and other financial information normally required by GAAP have been omitted. Management believes the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all normal and recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented herein. These condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the 2021 Form 10-K.

The December 31, 2021 year-end balance sheet data presented herein was derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2021 Form 10-K, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The Company’s interim results of operations may not be indicative of its future results.

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Principles of Consolidation. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, including its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Reporting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Segment Reporting. Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 280 - Segment Reporting requires the disclosure of factors used to identify an entity’s reportable segments. Based on the Company’s chief operating decision maker’s review and assessment of the Company’s operating performance for purposes of performance monitoring and resource allocation, the Company determined that its operations, including the decisions to allocate resources and deploy capital, are organized and managed on a consolidated basis. Accordingly, management has identified one operating segment, which is its reportable segment, under this organizational and reporting structure.

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates. The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported herein. Management bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in future periods may be affected by changes in those estimates and underlying assumptions.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In  November 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2021-10, Government Assistance (Topic 832): Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance. ASU 2021-10 requires additional disclosure around the type of any government assistance received and its impact on the consolidated financial statements. The Company adopted the updated guidance in the first quarter of 2022. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In  October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2021-08 requires entities to apply existing revenue recognition guidance when recognizing and measuring contract assets acquired and contract liabilities assumed in a business combination. The Company adopted the updated guidance in the first quarter of 2022. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued But Not Yet Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. ASU 2020-04 provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference LIBOR and other reference rates that are to be discontinued. The ASU may be adopted at any time through December 31, 2022. The Company currently holds certain debt and interest rate swaps that reference LIBOR. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2020-04 when the contracts underlying such instruments are amended as a result of reference rate reform. The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

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Note 2 - Acquisitions (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Finite-Lived and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination [Table Text Block]

			Useful Life
	Fair Value		(in years)
Customer relationships	$	15,400		14.0
Trademark and trade name	$	500		3.0
Franchise agreements	$	49,600	Indefinite

			Useful Life
	Fair Value		(in years)
Customer relationships	$	472,000		13.7
Trademark and trade name	$	10,000		4.2
Franchise agreements	$	1,110,000	Indefinite

Schedule of Recognized Identified Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed [Table Text Block]

	Initial Purchase Price Allocation		Measurement Period Adjustments			Purchase Price Allocation
Assets Acquired
Cash and cash equivalents	$	17,652	$	-		$	17,652
Accounts receivable		17,991		(62	)		17,929
Income taxes receivable		-		720			720
Prepaid and other current assets		8,006		-			8,006
Property, plant and equipment		457,158		(525	)		456,633
Intangible assets		1,592,000		-			1,592,000
Other noncurrent assets		4,636		2,940			7,576
Total Assets Acquired		2,097,443		3,073			2,100,516
Liabilities Assumed
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		36,457		1,770			38,227
Deferred revenue (short-term portion)		8,462		-			8,462
Current portion of long-term debt		1,375		(1,375	)		-
Long-term debt		2,912		(2,912	)		-
Deferred income taxes		437,725		923			438,648
Other noncurrent liabilities		6,974		2,912			9,886
Total Liabilities Assumed		493,905		1,318			495,223
Net assets acquired		1,603,538		1,755			1,605,293
Purchase price consideration(1)		2,117,866		(756	)		2,117,110
Goodwill recognized	$	514,328	$	(2,511	)	$	511,817

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Note 3 - Revenues (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Revenue from External Customers by Products and Services [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2022		2021
Residential:
Data	$	230,153	$	183,605
Video		84,658		76,017
Voice		11,896		10,477
Business services		76,498		60,362
Other		23,521		10,801
Total revenues	$	426,726	$	341,262
Franchise and other regulatory fees	$	8,094	$	6,152
Deferred commission amortization	$	1,253	$	1,468

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Schedule of Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Trade receivables	$	38,192		$	41,947
Other receivables		14,534			16,847
Less: Allowance for credit losses		(2,580	)		(2,541	)
Total accounts receivable, net	$	50,146		$	56,253

Schedule of Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022			2021
Beginning balance	$	2,541		$	1,252
Additions - charged to costs and expenses		1,718			643
Deductions - write-offs		(3,261	)		(2,451	)
Recoveries collected		1,582			1,930
Ending balance	$	2,580		$	1,374

Prepaid and Other Current Assets [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Prepaid repairs and maintenance	$	11,091	$	4,788
Software implementation costs		1,336		1,199
Prepaid insurance		1,637		3,325
Prepaid rent		3,187		2,107
Prepaid software		7,820		6,982
Deferred commissions		3,609		4,295
All other current assets		12,335		9,009
Total prepaid and other current assets	$	41,015	$	31,705

Schedule of Other Assets, Noncurrent [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	12,354	$	15,501
Deferred commissions		8,673		8,624
Software implementation costs		7,457		7,782
Debt issuance costs		2,410		2,576
Debt investment		2,000		-
Assets held for sale		3,896		3,819
All other noncurrent assets		2,540		4,020
Total other noncurrent assets	$	39,330	$	42,322

Schedule of Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Accounts payable	$	35,640	$	35,716
Accrued programming costs		24,425		23,703
Accrued compensation and related benefits		24,833		34,731
Accrued sales and other operating taxes		8,879		12,872
Accrued franchise fees		3,734		4,397
Deposits		6,796		6,840
Operating lease liabilities		4,386		5,633
Interest rate swap liability		11,068		26,662
Accrued insurance costs		5,307		5,542
Cash overdrafts		13,479		11,517
Equity investment payable(1)		10,087		13,387
Interest payable		10,414		5,172
All other accrued liabilities		23,203		17,215
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	182,251	$	203,387

Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Operating lease liabilities	$	7,235	$	9,098
Accrued compensation and related benefits		10,218		11,010
Deferred revenue		6,358		6,854
MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5)(1)		39,010		123,620
All other noncurrent liabilities		4,612		5,959
Total other noncurrent liabilities	$	67,433	$	156,541

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Note 5 - Equity Investments (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Equity Securities without Readily Determinable Fair Value [Table Text Block]

	Ownership	March 31,		December 31,
	Percentage	2022		2021
Cost Method Investments
Nextlink	<20%	$	77,245	$	77,245
Point Broadband	<10%		30,373		25,000
Tristar	<10%		23,208		23,083
Others	<10%		13,658		13,170
Total cost method investments		$	144,484	$	138,498
Equity Method Investments
Clearwave Fiber	~58%	$	440,000	$	-
MBI(1)	45.0%		560,496		557,715
Wisper	40.4%		32,352		31,352
Total equity method investments		$	1,032,848	$	589,067
Total equity investments		$	1,177,332	$	727,565

Equity Method Investments [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Equity Method Investment Income (Loss)
MBI(1)	$	2,781	$	(1,214	)
Wisper		999		646
Total	$	3,780	$	(568	)
Other Income (Expense), Net
MBI Net Option change in fair value	$	84,610	$	5,560

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Note 6 - Property, Plant and Equipment (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Cable distribution systems	$	2,291,433		$	2,509,795
Customer premise equipment		323,982			320,937
Other equipment and fixtures		464,784			472,319
Buildings and improvements		138,436			142,754
Capitalized software		91,802			89,662
Construction in progress		167,104			172,706
Land		12,363			12,134
Right-of-use assets		11,241			11,241
Property, plant and equipment, gross		3,501,145			3,731,548
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,898,652	)		(1,877,444	)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	1,602,493		$	1,854,104

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Note 7 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Schedule of Intangible Assets and Goodwill [Table Text Block]

		March 31, 2022						December 31, 2021
	Useful Life	Gross				Net		Gross				Net
	Range	Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying		Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying
	(in years)	Amount		Amortization		Amount		Amount		Amortization		Amount
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets
Customer relationships	13.5 – 17	$	788,042	$	164,237	$	623,805	$	857,100	$	153,699	$	703,401
Trademarks and trade names	2.7 – 4.2		11,922		4,429		7,493		13,500		3,852		9,648
Wireless licenses	10 – 15		1,418		178		1,240		1,418		142		1,276
Total finite-lived intangible assets		$	801,382	$	168,844	$	632,538	$	872,018	$	157,693	$	714,325
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets
Franchise agreements						$	2,111,568					$	2,139,312
Trade names							800						7,500
Total indefinite-lived intangible assets						$	2,112,368					$	2,146,812
Total intangible assets, net						$	2,744,906					$	2,861,137

Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense [Table Text Block]

Year Ending December 31,	Amount
2022 (remaining nine months)	$	63,181
2023		73,111
2024		66,307
2025		61,279
2026		55,681
Thereafter		312,979
Total	$	632,538

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Note 8 - Debt (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Schedule of Long-Term Debt Instruments [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Senior Credit Facilities (as defined below)	$	2,303,458		$	2,311,890
Senior Notes (as defined below)		650,000			650,000
Convertible Notes (as defined below)		920,000			920,000
Finance lease liabilities		5,378			5,621
Total debt		3,878,836			3,887,511
Less: Unamortized debt discount		(19,544	)		(20,602	)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs		(27,423	)		(28,572	)
Less: Current portion of long-term debt		(43,105	)		(38,837	)
Total long-term debt	$	3,788,764		$	3,799,500

Summary of Term Loans [Table Text Block]

Instrument	Draw Date(s)	Original Principal		Amortization Per Annum(1)	Outstanding Principal		Final Maturity Date	Final Scheduled Principal Payment		Benchmark Rate	Applicable Margin(2)	Interest Rate
Term Loan A-2	5/8/2019(3) 10/1/2019(3)	$	700,000	Varies(4)	$	655,335	10/30/2025	$	476,607	LIBOR	1.75%	2.21%
Term Loan B-2	1/7/2019		250,000	1.0%		242,500	10/30/2027		228,750	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-3	6/14/2019(5) 10/30/2020(5)		625,000	1.0%		611,623	10/30/2027		577,472	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Term Loan B-4	5/3/2021		800,000	1.0%		794,000	5/3/2028		746,000	LIBOR	2.00%	2.46%
Total		$	2,375,000		$	2,303,458		$	2,028,829

Convertible Debt [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022									December 31, 2021
	2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total			2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total
Gross carrying amount	$	575,000		$	345,000		$	920,000		$	575,000		$	345,000		$	920,000
Less: Unamortized discount		(11,871	)		(7,673	)		(19,544	)		(12,611	)		(7,991	)		(20,602	)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs		(324	)		(217	)		(541	)		(344	)		(226	)		(570	)
Net carrying amount	$	562,805		$	337,110		$	899,915		$	562,045		$	336,783		$	898,828

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022								2021
	2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total		2026 Notes			2028 Notes			Total
Contractual interest expense	$	-		$	970		$	970	$	-		$	291		$	291
Amortization of discount		740			318			1,058		222			95			317
Amortization of debt issuance costs		20			9			29		6			2			8
Total interest expense	$	760		$	1,297		$	2,057	$	228		$	388		$	616
Effective interest rate		0.5	%		1.5	%				0.5	%		1.5	%

Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Revolving Credit Facility portion:
Other noncurrent assets	$	2,410	$	2,576
Term loans and Notes portion:
Long-term debt (contra account)		27,423		28,572
Total	$	29,833	$	31,148

Schedule of Maturities of Long-Term Debt [Table Text Block]

Year Ending December 31,	Amount
2022 (remaining nine months)	$	29,554
2023		55,008
2024		76,285
2025		557,147
2026		591,709
Thereafter		2,563,755
Total	$	3,873,458

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Note 9 - Interest Rate Swaps (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Schedule of Derivative Instruments [Table Text Block]

	Entry	Effective	Maturity	Notional		Settlement	Settlement	Fixed
	Date	Date	Date(1)	Amount		Type	Frequency	Base Rate
Swap A	3/7/2019	3/11/2019	3/11/2029	$	850,000	Receive one-month LIBOR, pay fixed	Monthly	2.653%
Swap B	3/6/2019	6/15/2020	2/28/2029		350,000	Receive one-month LIBOR, pay fixed	Monthly	2.739%
Total				$	1,200,000

Schedule of Cash Flow Hedging Instruments, Statements of Financial Performance and Financial Position, Location [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
Liabilities:
Current portion:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	11,068	$	26,662
Noncurrent portion:
Interest rate swap liability	$	21,390	$	81,627
Total	$	32,458	$	108,289
Stockholders’ Equity:
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	24,503	$	81,873

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022			2021
Interest expense	$	7,609		$	7,649
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, gross	$	(75,831	)	$	(73,582	)
Less: Tax effect		18,461			18,118
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, net of tax	$	(57,370	)	$	(55,464	)

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Note 10 - Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Fair Value Measurements, Recurring and Nonrecurring [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022
	Carrying		Fair		Fair Value
	Amount		Value		Hierarchy
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents:
Money market investments	$	313,022	$	313,022	Level 1
Liabilities:
Long-term debt (including current portion):
Term loans	$	2,303,458	$	2,279,580	Level 2
Senior Notes	$	650,000	$	598,000	Level 2
Convertible Notes	$	920,000	$	815,534	Level 2
Interest rate swap liability (including current portion):
Interest rate swaps	$	32,458	$	32,458	Level 2
Other noncurrent liabilities:
MBI Net Option	$	39,010	$	39,010	Level 3

MBI Net Option [Member]

Notes Tables

Fair Value Measurement Inputs and Valuation Techniques [Table Text Block]

	March 31, 2022						December 31, 2021
	Cable One			MBI			Cable One			MBI
Equity volatility		30.0	%		30.0	%		30.0	%		30.0	%
EBITDA volatility		10.0	%		10.0	%		10.0	%		10.0	%
EBITDA risk-adjusted discount rate		6.5	%		8.0	%		5.0	%		6.5	%
Cost of debt		5.0	%					4.0	%

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Note 12 - Equity-based Compensation (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Share-Based Payment Arrangement, Expensed and Capitalized, Amount [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Restricted Stock	$	4,637	$	3,424
SARs		568		703
Total	$	5,205	$	4,127

Share-Based Payment Arrangement, Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit, Activity [Table Text Block]

				Weighted
				Average Grant
	Restricted			Date Fair Value
	Stock			Per Share
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021		34,026		$	1,487.02
Granted		16,849		$	1,743.82
Forfeited		(940	)	$	1,882.16
Vested and issued		(7,186	)	$	1,164.87
Outstanding as of March 31, 2022		42,749		$	1,633.70
Vested and deferred as of March 31, 2022		5,978		$	756.32

Share-Based Payment Arrangement, Stock Appreciation Right, Activity [Table Text Block]

										Weighted
						Weighted				Average
				Weighted		Average		Aggregate		Remaining
	Stock			Average		Grant		Intrinsic		Contractual
	Appreciation			Exercise		Date Fair		Value		Term
	Rights			Price		Value		(in thousands)		(in years)
Outstanding as of December 31, 2021		45,740		$	1,075.34	$	263.62	$	32,897		7.1
Granted		-		$	-	$	-	$	-		-
Exercised		-		$	-	$	-	$	-		-
Forfeited		(1,750	)	$	1,492.73	$	375.76
Outstanding as of March 31, 2022		43,990		$	1,058.73	$	259.16	$	22,019		6.8
Exercisable as of March 31, 2022		27,365		$	806.36	$	190.78	$	18,697		6.0

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Note 14 - Other Income and Expense (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Schedule of Other Nonoperating Income (Expense) [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
MBI Net Option fair value adjustment	$	84,610	$	5,560
Write-off of debt issuance costs		-		(487	)
Interest and investment income		3,443		3,225
Mark-to-market adjustments and other		7		(198	)
Other income (expense), net	$	88,060	$	8,100

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Note 15 - Net Income Per Common Share (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes Tables

Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Numerator:
Net income - basic	$	171,476	$	68,582
Add: Convertible Notes interest expense, net of tax		1,543		462
Net income - diluted	$	173,019	$	69,044
Denominator:
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic		6,018,881		6,012,402
Effect of dilutive equity-based compensation awards(1)		21,834		40,443
Effect of dilution from if-converted Convertible Notes(2)		404,248		115,416
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted		6,444,963		6,168,261
Net Income per Common Share:
Basic	$	28.49	$	11.41
Diluted	$	26.85	$	11.19
Supplemental Net Income per Common Share Disclosure:
Anti-dilutive shares from equity-based compensation awards(1)		16,319		7,232

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Note 1 - Description of Business (Details Textual) $ in Millions				3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2022 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2021 USD ($)	May 03, 2021 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021	Oct. 01, 2020
Number of States in which Entity Operates				24
Number of Customers				1,100,000
Number of Operating Segments				1
Clearwave Fiber [Member]
Percentage of Revenue	3.00%				3.00%
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage	58.00%
Equity Method Investments, Fair Value Disclosure	$ 440.0
Hargray [Member]
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired			85.00%			15.00%
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross			$ 2,000.0
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred, Including Equity Interest in Acquiree Held Prior to Combination, Total			$ 2,200.0
Cable America Missouri, LLC [Member]
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross		$ 113.1
Data [Member]
Number of Customers				1,057,000
Video [Member]
Number of Customers				238,000
Voice [Member]
Number of Customers				143,000

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Note 2 - Acquisitions (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 30, 2021	May 03, 2021	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021	Mar. 31, 2021	Oct. 01, 2020
Hosting Arrangement, Service Contract, Implementation Cost, Capitalized, before Accumulated Amortization			$ 1,300		$ 4,400
Goodwill, Ending Balance			$ 927,981	$ 967,913
Cable America Missouri, LLC [Member]
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross	$ 113,100
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life (Year)	13 years 8 months 12 days
Business Acquisition, Goodwill, Expected Tax Deductible Amount	$ 25,600
Hargray [Member]
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross		$ 2,000,000
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life (Year)		13 years 6 months
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired		85.00%				15.00%
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred, Including Equity Interest in Acquiree Held Prior to Combination, Total		$ 2,200,000
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Fair Value		$ 146,600
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Percentage		15.00%
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain		$ 33,400
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Carrying Value		113,200
Goodwill, Ending Balance		$ 511,800

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Note 2 - Acquisitions - Identifiable Intangible Assets Acquired (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 30, 2021	May 03, 2021
Cable America Missouri, LLC [Member]
Useful Life (Year)	13 years 8 months 12 days
Cable America Missouri, LLC [Member] | Franchise Rights [Member]
Fair Value	$ 49.6
Hargray [Member]
Useful Life (Year)		13 years 6 months
Hargray [Member] | Franchise Rights [Member]
Fair Value		$ 1,110.0
Customer Relationships [Member] | Cable America Missouri, LLC [Member]
Fair Value	$ 15.4
Useful Life (Year)	14 years
Customer Relationships [Member] | Hargray [Member]
Fair Value		$ 472.0
Useful Life (Year)		13 years 8 months 12 days
Trademarks and Trade Names [Member] | Cable America Missouri, LLC [Member]
Fair Value	$ 0.5
Useful Life (Year)	3 years
Trademarks and Trade Names [Member] | Hargray [Member]
Fair Value		$ 10.0
Useful Life (Year)		4 years 2 months 12 days

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Note 2 - Acquisitions - Allocation of Purchase Price Consideration (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021	May 03, 2021
Goodwill, Ending Balance		$ 927,981	$ 967,913
Hargray [Member]
Goodwill, Ending Balance				$ 511,800
Hargray [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member]
Cash and cash equivalents				17,652
Accounts receivable				17,991
Income taxes receivable				0
Prepaid and other current assets				8,006
Property, plant and equipment				457,158
Intangible assets				1,592,000
Other noncurrent assets				4,636
Total Assets Acquired				2,097,443
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities				36,457
Deferred revenue (short-term portion)				8,462
Current portion of long-term debt				1,375
Long-term debt				2,912
Deferred income taxes				437,725
Other noncurrent liabilities				6,974
Total Liabilities Assumed				493,905
Net assets acquired				1,603,538
Purchase price consideration(1)	[1]			2,117,866
Goodwill, Ending Balance				514,328
Hargray [Member] | Changes Measurement [Member]
Cash and cash equivalents				0
Accounts receivable				(62)
Income taxes receivable				720
Prepaid and other current assets				0
Property, plant and equipment				(525)
Intangible assets				0
Other noncurrent assets				2,940
Total Assets Acquired				3,073
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities				1,770
Deferred revenue (short-term portion)				0
Current portion of long-term debt				(1,375)
Long-term debt				(2,912)
Deferred income taxes				923
Other noncurrent liabilities				2,912
Total Liabilities Assumed				1,318
Net assets acquired				1,755
Purchase price consideration(1)	[1]			(756)
Goodwill, Ending Balance				(2,511)
Hargray [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member]
Cash and cash equivalents				17,652
Accounts receivable				17,929
Income taxes receivable				720
Prepaid and other current assets				8,006
Property, plant and equipment				456,633
Intangible assets				1,592,000
Other noncurrent assets				7,576
Total Assets Acquired				2,100,516
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities				38,227
Deferred revenue (short-term portion)				8,462
Current portion of long-term debt				0
Long-term debt				0
Deferred income taxes				438,648
Other noncurrent liabilities				9,886
Total Liabilities Assumed				495,223
Net assets acquired				1,605,293
Purchase price consideration(1)	[1]			2,117,110
Goodwill, Ending Balance				$ 511,817

[1] Consists of approximately $2.0 billion of cash for the additional approximately 85% equity interest in Hargray that the Company did not already own and the $146.6 million May 3, 2021 fair value of the Company’s existing approximately 15% equity investment in Hargray. The Company recognized a $33.4 million non-cash gain within other income in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income upon the acquisition, representing the difference between the existing equity investment’s fair value and $113.2 million carrying value. The fair value of the existing investment was calculated as approximately 15% of the fair value of Hargray’s total equity value (determined using the discounted cash flow method of the income approach, less debt), excluding the impact of any synergies or control premium that would be realized by a controlling interest.

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Note 3 - Revenues (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Contract with Customer, Liability, Current	$ 23,956	$ 26,851
Contract with Customer, Liability, Revenue Recognized	$ 22,100

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Note 3 - Revenues - Revenues by Product Line (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Revenues	$ 426,726	$ 341,262
Deferred commission amortization	1,253	1,468
Data [Member]
Revenues	230,153	183,605
Video [Member]
Revenues	84,658	76,017
Voice [Member]
Revenues	11,896	10,477
Business Services [Member]
Revenues	76,498	60,362
Product and Service, Other [Member]
Revenues	23,521	10,801
Fees Imposed by Various Governmental Authorities Passed Through to Customer [Member]
Revenues	$ 8,094	$ 6,152

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Millions		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 01, 2022	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Call Option [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative Asset, Fair Value, Gross Asset, Total		$ 27.6	$ 27.6
Derivative Asset, Fair Value, Gross Liability				$ 17.8
Put Option [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative Asset, Fair Value, Gross Liability		66.6	66.6	$ 105.8
Wisper ISP, LLC [Member]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments	$ 3.3	$ 3.3	$ 15.2

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities - Summary of Accounts Receivable (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Trade receivables	$ 38,192	$ 41,947
Other receivables	14,534	16,847
Less: Allowance for credit losses	(2,580)	(2,541)
Total accounts receivable, net	$ 50,146	$ 56,253

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities - Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	[1]	Mar. 31, 2021
Beginning balance	$ 2,541		$ 1,252
Additions - charged to costs and expenses	1,718		643
Deductions - write-offs	(3,261)		(2,451)
Recoveries collected	1,582		1,930
Ending balance	$ 2,580		$ 1,374

[1] Additions include $1.4 million of additional reserves assumed in the Hargray Acquisition.

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities - Prepaid and Other Current Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Prepaid repairs and maintenance	$ 11,091	$ 4,788
Software implementation costs	1,336	1,199
Prepaid insurance	1,637	3,325
Prepaid rent	3,187	2,107
Prepaid software	7,820	6,982
Deferred commissions	3,609	4,295
All other current assets	12,335	9,009
Total prepaid and other current assets	$ 41,015	$ 31,705

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities - Other Noncurrent Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$ 12,354	$ 15,501
Deferred commissions	8,673	8,624
Software implementation costs	7,457	7,782
Debt issuance costs	2,410	2,576
Debt investment	2,000	0
Assets held for sale	3,896	3,819
All other noncurrent assets	2,540	4,020
Total other noncurrent assets	$ 39,330	$ 42,322

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities - Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Interest payable		$ 10,414	$ 5,172
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities, current		182,251	203,387
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Member]
Accounts payable, current		35,640	35,716
Accrued programming costs		24,425	23,703
Accrued compensation and related benefits		24,833	34,731
Accrued sales and other operating taxes		8,879	12,872
Accrued franchise fees		3,734	4,397
Deposits		6,796	6,840
Operating lease liabilities		4,386	5,633
Interest rate swap liability		11,068	26,662
Accrued insurance costs		5,307	5,542
Cash overdrafts		13,479	11,517
Equity investment payable	[1]	10,087	13,387
All other accrued liabilities		$ 23,203	$ 17,215

[1] Consists of the unfunded portion of the Company’s equity investment in Wisper ISP, LLC (“Wisper”). In March 2022, the Company funded $3.3 million of the then outstanding investment payable to Wisper. Refer to note 5 for details on this investment.

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Note 4 - Operating Assets and Liabilities - Other Noncurrent Liabilities (Details) - USD ($)		Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5)(1)		$ 21,390,000	$ 81,627,000
Total other noncurrent liabilities		67,433,000	156,541,000
Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member]
Operating lease liabilities		7,235,000	9,098,000
Accrued compensation and related benefits		10,218,000	11,010,000
Deferred revenue		6,358,000	6,854,000
MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5)(1)	[1]	39,010	123,620
All other noncurrent liabilities		$ 4,612,000	$ 5,959,000

[1] Represents the net value of the Company’s call and put options associated with the remaining equity interests in MBI (as defined in note 5), consisting of an asset of $27.6 million and a liability of $66.6 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2022 and a liability of $17.8 million and a liability of $105.8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2021. Refer to notes 5 and 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5).

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Note 5 - Equity Investments (Details Textual) - USD ($)												1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
		Mar. 24, 2022	Mar. 01, 2022	Jan. 01, 2022	Nov. 05, 2021	Oct. 18, 2021	Oct. 01, 2021	May 03, 2021	Nov. 12, 2020	Oct. 01, 2020	May 04, 2020	Mar. 31, 2022		Mar. 31, 2022		Dec. 31, 2021		Mar. 31, 2021	Jul. 10, 2020
Payments to Acquire Investments, Total														$ 10,673,000				$ (0)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business														22,087,000				(0)
Equity Method Investments												$ 1,032,848,000		1,032,848,000		$ 589,067,000
Derivative Liability, Noncurrent												21,390,000		21,390,000		81,627,000
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments, Total														3,780,000				(568,000)
Equity Method Investment, Other than Temporary Impairment														0
MBI [Member]
Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Basis Difference Between Fair Value and Carrying Value																186,600,000
Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member]
Derivative Liability, Noncurrent	[1]											39,010		39,010		123,620
MBI Net Option [Member] | Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member]
Derivative Liability, Noncurrent												$ 39,000,000.0		$ 39,000,000.0		$ 123,600,000
MBI [Member]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage												45.00%	[2]	45.00%	[2]	45.00%
Equity Method Investments									$ 630,700,000			$ 560,496,000	[2]	$ 560,496,000	[2]	$ 557,715,000	[2]
Equity Method Investment, Difference Between Carrying Amount and Underlying Equity, Total												502,900,000		502,900,000		508,300,000
Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Basis Difference Between Fair Value and Carrying Value																$ 84,000,000.0
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments, Total														6,700,000				1,400,000
Amortization, Total														4,000,000.0				$ 2,700,000
MBI [Member] | Call Option [Member]
Derivative Assets, Noncurrent, Total									19,700,000
MBI [Member] | Put Option [Member]
Derivative Liability, Noncurrent									$ 75,500,000
Hargray [Member]
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired								85.00%		15.00%
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross								$ 2,000,000,000.0
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred, Including Equity Interest in Acquiree Held Prior to Combination, Total								2,200,000,000
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain								$ 33,400,000
Disposition of the Anniston Exchange [Member]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business										$ 82,600,000
Wisper ISP, LLC [Member]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage																			40.40%
Equity Method Investment, Aggregate Cost																			$ 25,300,000
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments			$ 3,300,000									$ 3,300,000		15,200,000
Mega Broadband Investments Holdings [Member]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage									45.00%
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments									$ 574,900,000
Clearwave Fiber [Member]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage				58.00%
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business														$ 22,100,000
Percentage of Revenue				3.00%												3.00%
Equity Method Investments, Fair Value Disclosure				$ 440,000,000.0
AMG Technology [Member]
Ownership Percentage					17.00%
Payments to Acquire Investments, Total					$ 50,000,000.0						$ 27,200,000
AMG Technology [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Ownership Percentage											10.00%
Hargray [Member]
Ownership Percentage										15.00%
Point Broadband Holdings [Member]
Ownership Percentage		7.00%
Payments to Acquire Investments, Total		$ 5,400,000					$ 25,000,000.0
Point Broadband Holdings [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Ownership Percentage							10.00%
Tristar Acquisition I Corp [Member]
Payments to Acquire Investments, Total						$ 20,800,000
Tristar Acquisition I Corp [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Ownership Percentage						10.00%

[1] Represents the net value of the Company’s call and put options associated with the remaining equity interests in MBI (as defined in note 5), consisting of an asset of $27.6 million and a liability of $66.6 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2022 and a liability of $17.8 million and a liability of $105.8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2021. Refer to notes 5 and 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option (as defined in note 5).

[2] The Company holds a call option to purchase all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. If the call option is not exercised, certain investors in MBI hold a put option to sell (and to cause all members of MBI other than the Company to sell) to the Company all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between July 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025. The call and put options (collectively referred to as the “MBI Net Option”) are measured at fair value using Monte Carlo simulations that rely on assumptions around MBI’s equity value, MBI’s and the Company’s equity volatility, MBI’s and the Company’s EBITDA volatility, risk adjusted discount rates and the Company’s cost of debt, among others. The final MBI purchase price allocation resulted in $630.7 million being allocated to the MBI equity investment and $19.7 million and $75.5 million being allocated to the call and put options, respectively. The MBI Net Option is remeasured at fair value on a quarterly basis. The carrying value of the MBI Net Option liability was $39.0 million and $123.6 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, and was included within other noncurrent liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Refer to note 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option.

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Note 5 - Equity Investments - Carrying Value of Equity Method Investments Without Determinable Fair Values (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022		Dec. 31, 2021		Nov. 12, 2020
Cost Method Investment	$ 144,484		$ 138,498
Cost Method Investment	144,484		138,498
Equity Method Investments	1,032,848		589,067
Total equity method investments	1,032,848		589,067
Equity investments	$ 1,177,332		727,565
Clearwave [Member]
Cost method investments, ownership	58.00%
Equity Method Investments	$ 440,000		0
Total equity method investments	$ 440,000		$ 0
MBI [Member]
Cost method investments, ownership	45.00%	[1]	45.00%
Equity Method Investments	$ 560,496	[1]	$ 557,715	[1]	$ 630,700
Total equity method investments	$ 560,496	[1]	557,715	[1]	$ 630,700
Wisper [Member]
Cost method investments, ownership	40.40%
Equity Method Investments	$ 32,352		31,352
Total equity method investments	32,352		31,352
Nextlink [Member]
Cost Method Investment	77,245		77,245
Cost Method Investment	77,245		77,245
Point Broadband Holdings [Member]
Cost Method Investment	30,373		25,000
Cost Method Investment	30,373		25,000
Tristar Acquisition I Corp [Member]
Cost Method Investment	23,208		23,083
Cost Method Investment	23,208		23,083
Other Cost Method Investment [Member]
Cost Method Investment	13,658		13,170
Cost Method Investment	$ 13,658		$ 13,170

[1] The Company holds a call option to purchase all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. If the call option is not exercised, certain investors in MBI hold a put option to sell (and to cause all members of MBI other than the Company to sell) to the Company all but not less than all of the remaining equity interests in MBI that the Company does not already own between July 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025. The call and put options (collectively referred to as the “MBI Net Option”) are measured at fair value using Monte Carlo simulations that rely on assumptions around MBI’s equity value, MBI’s and the Company’s equity volatility, MBI’s and the Company’s EBITDA volatility, risk adjusted discount rates and the Company’s cost of debt, among others. The final MBI purchase price allocation resulted in $630.7 million being allocated to the MBI equity investment and $19.7 million and $75.5 million being allocated to the call and put options, respectively. The MBI Net Option is remeasured at fair value on a quarterly basis. The carrying value of the MBI Net Option liability was $39.0 million and $123.6 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, and was included within other noncurrent liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Refer to note 10 for further information on the MBI Net Option.

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Note 5 - Equity Investments - Equity Method Investment Income (Losses) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Equity method investment income (loss), net		$ 3,780	$ (568)
MBI Net Option [Member]
MBI Net Option fair value adjustment		84,610	5,560
MBI [Member]
Equity method investment income (loss), net	[1]	2,781	(1,214)
MBI [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
MBI Net Option fair value adjustment		84,610	5,560
Wisper [Member]
Equity method investment income (loss), net		$ 999	$ 646

[1] The Company identified a $186.6 million difference between the fair values of certain of MBI’s finite-lived intangible assets and the respective carrying values recorded by MBI, of which $84.0 million was attributable to the Company’s 45% pro rata portion. The Company is amortizing its share on an accelerated basis over the lives of the respective assets. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company recognized $6.7 million of its pro rata share of MBI’s net income and $4.0 million of its pro rata share of basis difference amortization. For the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company recognized $1.4 million of its pro rata share of MBI’s net income and $2.7 million of its pro rata share of basis difference amortization.

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Note 6 - Property, Plant and Equipment (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2022	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Depreciation, Total		$ 67.1	$ 58.0
Other Noncurrent Assets [Member]
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Property, Plant and Equipment, Noncurrent		$ 3.9
Clearwave [Member]
Business Combination, Property, Plant, and Equipment Transferred	$ 280.0

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Note 6 - Property, Plant and Equipment - Schedule of Property, Plant and Equipment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Property, plant and equipment gross	$ 3,501,145	$ 3,731,548
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1,898,652)	(1,877,444)
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,602,493	1,854,104
Other Capitalized Property Plant and Equipment [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	2,291,433	2,509,795
Equipment [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	323,982	320,937
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	464,784	472,319
Building and Leasehold Improvements[Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	138,436	142,754
Software and Software Development Costs [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	91,802	89,662
Construction in Progress [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	167,104	172,706
Land [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	12,363	12,134
Right-of-use Assets [Member]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 11,241	$ 11,241

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Note 7 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2022	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021
Goodwill, Ending Balance		$ 927,981		$ 967,913
Goodwill, Impairment Loss		0
Amortization of Intangible Assets, Total		20,800	$ 10,500
Clearwave [Member]
Goodwill, Period Increase (Decrease), Total	$ (39,900)
Intangible Assets, Period Increase (Decrease)		(116,200)
Clearwave [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]
Intangible Assets, Period Increase (Decrease)		(59,700)
Clearwave [Member] | Trademarks [Member]
Intangible Assets, Period Increase (Decrease)		(8,100)
Clearwave [Member] | Trade Names [Member]
Intangible Assets, Period Increase (Decrease)		$ (27,700)

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Note 7 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Gross carrying amount, amortized intangible assets	$ 801,382	$ 872,018
Accumulated amortization, amortized intangible assets	168,844	157,693
Net carrying amount	632,538	714,325
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets	2,112,368	2,146,812
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets	2,112,368	2,146,812
Total intangible assets, net	2,744,906	2,861,137
Franchise Rights [Member]
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets	2,111,568	2,139,312
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets	2,111,568	2,139,312
Trade Names [Member]
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets	800	7,500
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets	$ 800	7,500
Customer Relationships [Member]
Useful life (Year)	17 years
Gross carrying amount, amortized intangible assets	$ 788,042	857,100
Accumulated amortization, amortized intangible assets	164,237	153,699
Net carrying amount	$ 623,805	703,401
Customer Relationships [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Useful life (Year)	13 years 6 months
Trademarks and Trade Names [Member]
Useful life (Year)	4 years 2 months 12 days
Gross carrying amount, amortized intangible assets	$ 11,922	13,500
Accumulated amortization, amortized intangible assets	4,429	3,852
Net carrying amount	$ 7,493	9,648
Trademarks and Trade Names [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Useful life (Year)	2 years 8 months 12 days
Wireless Spectrum Licenses [Member]
Useful life (Year)	15 years
Gross carrying amount, amortized intangible assets	$ 1,418	1,418
Accumulated amortization, amortized intangible assets	178	142
Net carrying amount	$ 1,240	$ 1,276
Wireless Spectrum Licenses [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Useful life (Year)	10 years

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Note 7 - Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Amortization of Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
2022 (remaining nine months)	$ 63,181
2023	73,111
2024	66,307
2025	61,279
2026	55,681
Thereafter	312,979
Total	$ 632,538	$ 714,325

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Note 8 - Debt (Details Textual) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands							1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
		Mar. 05, 2021 USD ($) $ / shares	Nov. 09, 2020 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 14, 2019 USD ($)	May 08, 2019 USD ($)	Oct. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2022 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt, Total								$ 0	$ 895,850
Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs								1,300	1,100
Senior Unsecured Notes Due 2030 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount			$ 650,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								650,000		$ 650,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage			4.00%
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage of Principal Amount Redeemed			100.00%
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage of Principal Amount Redeemed not Exceeding the Net Cash Proceeds from One or More Equity Offerings at a Redemption Price Equal to 104% of the Principal Amount			40.00%
Debt Instrument, Covenant Repurchase, Percentage of Principle			101.00%
The 2026 Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		$ 575,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								575,000		575,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		0.00%
Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs								20	6
The 2028 Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount		$ 345,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								345,000		345,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		1.125%
Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs								9	2
The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross								$ 920,000		$ 920,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Ratio		0.4394						0.4394
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 2,275.83
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage		100.00%
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Threshold Percentage of Stock Price Trigger		130.00%
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Threshold Trading Days		20
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Threshold Consecutive Trading Days		30
Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs								$ 29	$ 8
The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member] | Company Undergoes a Fundamental Change [Member]
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage		100.00%
Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member]
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted								44,100
Secured Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount								2,375,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								2,303,458
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount								700,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								$ 655,335
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt, Total				$ 450,000		$ 250,000
Long Term Debt, Amortization Rate, First Twelve Months							2.50%
Long Term Debt, Amortization Rate, Year Two							2.50%
Long Term Debt, Amortization Rate, Year Three							5.00%
Long Term Debt, Amortization Rate, Year Four							7.50%
Long Term Debt, Amortization Rate, Year Five							12.50%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate	[1]							1.75%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate								1.25%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate								1.75%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-2 Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount								$ 250,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								$ 242,500
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-2 Loan [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate	[1]							2.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-3 Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount								$ 625,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								$ 611,623
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt, Total					$ 325,000		$ 300,000
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-3 Loan [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate	[1]							2.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan B-4 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount							800,000	$ 800,000
Long-term Debt, Gross								$ 794,000
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan B-4 [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate	[1]							2.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | CoBank, ACB [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount							700,000
Secured Debt [Member] | CoBank, ACB [Member] | Term B-2 Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount							250,000
Secured Debt [Member] | CoBank, ACB [Member] | Term B-3 Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount							625,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | JPMorgan Chase Bank [Member]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity							$ 500,000
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity								$ 448,800
Letter of Credit [Member] | Term Loan Borrowings [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross								2,300,000
Letter of Credit [Member] | JPMorgan Chase Bank [Member]
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount								$ 51,200
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End								1.88%

[1] The Term Loan A-2 interest rate spread can vary between 1.25% and 1.75%, determined on a quarterly basis by reference to a pricing grid based on the Company’s Total Net Leverage Ratio. All other applicable margins are fixed.

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Note 8 - Debt - Schedule of Long-term Debt (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Finance lease liabilities	$ 5,378	$ 5,621
Total debt	3,878,836	3,887,511
Less: Unamortized debt discount	(19,544)	(20,602)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	(29,833)	(31,148)
Less: Current portion of long-term debt	(43,105)	(38,837)
Total long-term debt	3,788,764	3,799,500
Senior Credit Facilities Due 2020 [Member] | Term Loan [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross	2,303,458	2,311,890
Senior Unsecured Notes Due 2030 [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross	650,000	650,000
The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross	920,000	920,000
Less: Unamortized debt discount	(19,544)	(20,602)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	(541)	(570)
Term Loan [Member]
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	$ (27,423)	$ (28,572)

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Note 8 - Debt - Summary of Term Loans (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2022	Oct. 30, 2020
Balance Due Upon Maturity		$ 3,873,458
Secured Debt [Member]
Original Principal		2,375,000
Outstanding Principal		2,303,458
Balance Due Upon Maturity		2,028,829
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member]
Original Principal		700,000
Outstanding Principal		655,335
Balance Due Upon Maturity		$ 476,607
Interest Rate		2.21%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan A-2 [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Applicable Margin	[1]	1.75%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-2 Loan [Member]
Original Principal		$ 250,000
Outstanding Principal		242,500
Balance Due Upon Maturity		$ 228,750
Interest Rate		2.46%
Amortization Per Annum	[2]	1.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-2 Loan [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Applicable Margin	[1]	2.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-3 Loan [Member]
Original Principal		$ 625,000
Outstanding Principal		611,623
Balance Due Upon Maturity		$ 577,472
Interest Rate		2.46%
Amortization Per Annum	[2]	1.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term B-3 Loan [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Applicable Margin	[1]	2.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan B-4 [Member]
Original Principal		$ 800,000	$ 800,000
Outstanding Principal		794,000
Balance Due Upon Maturity		$ 746,000
Interest Rate		2.46%
Amortization Per Annum	[2]	1.00%
Secured Debt [Member] | Term Loan B-4 [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Applicable Margin	[1]	2.00%

[1] The Term Loan A-2 interest rate spread can vary between 1.25% and 1.75%, determined on a quarterly basis by reference to a pricing grid based on the Company’s Total Net Leverage Ratio. All other applicable margins are fixed.

[2] Payable in equal quarterly installments (expressed as a percentage of the original principal amount and subject to customary adjustments in the event of any prepayment). All loans may be prepaid at any time without penalty or premium (subject to customary LIBOR breakage provisions).

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Note 8 - Debt - Schedule of Convertible Notes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021
Less: Unamortized discount	$ (19,544)		$ (20,602)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	(29,833)		(31,148)
Total	3,873,458
Amortization of debt issuance costs	1,300	$ 1,100
The 2026 Notes [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross	575,000		575,000
Less: Unamortized discount	(11,871)		(12,611)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	(324)		(344)
Total	562,805		562,045
Amortization of discount	740	222
Amortization of debt issuance costs	20	6
Total interest expense	$ 760	$ 228
Effective interest rate	0.50%	0.50%
The 2028 Notes [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross	$ 345,000		345,000
Less: Unamortized discount	(7,673)		(7,991)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	(217)		(226)
Total	337,110		336,783
Contractual interest expense	970	$ 291
Amortization of discount	318	95
Amortization of debt issuance costs	9	2
Total interest expense	$ 1,297	$ 388
Effective interest rate	1.50%	1.50%
The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member]
Long-term Debt, Gross	$ 920,000		920,000
Less: Unamortized discount	(19,544)		(20,602)
Less: Unamortized debt issuance costs	(541)		(570)
Total	899,915		$ 898,828
Contractual interest expense	970	$ 291
Amortization of discount	1,058	317
Amortization of debt issuance costs	29	8
Total interest expense	$ 2,057	$ 616

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Note 8 - Debt - Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Debt issuance costs	$ 29,833	$ 31,148
Term Loan [Member]
Debt issuance costs	27,423	28,572
Other Noncurrent Assets [Member] | Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt issuance costs	2,410	2,576
Long-Term Debt [Member] | Term Loan [Member]
Debt issuance costs	$ 27,423	$ 28,572

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Note 8 - Debt - Future Maturities (Details) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022 USD ($)
2022 (remaining nine months)	$ 29,554
2023	55,008
2024	76,285
2025	557,147
2026	591,709
Thereafter	2,563,755
Total	$ 3,873,458

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Note 9 - Interest Rate Swaps - Interest Rate Swap Agreements (Details) - Cash Flow Hedging [Member] $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2022 USD ($)
First Interest Rate Swap Agreement [Member]
Derivative, Notional Amount	$ 850
Derivative, Fixed Interest Rate	2.653%
Second Interest Rate Swap Agreement [Member]
Derivative, Notional Amount	$ 350
Derivative, Fixed Interest Rate	2.739%
Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Derivative, Notional Amount	$ 1,200

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Note 9 - Interest Rate Swaps - Interest Rate Swaps on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021
Interest rate swap liability	$ 21,390		$ 81,627
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	25,391		82,795
Accumulated Gain (Loss), Net, Cash Flow Hedge, Parent [Member]
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	24,503		81,873
Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, gross	(75,831)	$ (73,582)
Less: Tax effect	18,461	18,118
Unrealized gain on cash flow hedges, net of tax	(57,370)	(55,464)
Interest Rate Swap [Member] | Interest Expense [Member]
Interest expense	7,609	$ 7,649
Interest Rate Swap [Member] | Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Interest rate swap liability	21,390		81,627
Total	32,458		108,289
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Member]
Derivative liability	11,068		26,662
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities [Member] | Interest Rate Swap [Member] | Cash Flow Hedging [Member]
Derivative liability	$ 11,068		$ 26,662

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Note 10 - Fair Value Measurements - Carrying Amounts and Fair Values (Details) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2022 USD ($)
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member] | Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Derivative liabilities	$ 32,458
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member] | Senior Credit Facilities [Member]
Long-term debt (including current portion)	2,303,458
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member] | New Notes [Member]
Long-term debt (including current portion)	650,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member] | The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member]
Long-term debt (including current portion)	920,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member] | Interest Rate Swap [Member]
Derivative liabilities	32,458
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member] | Senior Credit Facilities [Member]
Long-term debt (including current portion)	2,279,580
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member] | New Notes [Member]
Long-term debt (including current portion)	598,000
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member] | The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member]
Long-term debt (including current portion)	815,534
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative liabilities	39,010
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative liabilities	39,010
Money Market Funds [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Reported Value Measurement [Member]
Cash and cash equivalents	313,022
Money Market Funds [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] | Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 313,022

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Note 10 - Fair Value Measurements - Assumptions Used to Determine the Fair Value of the Net Options (Details)	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Measurement Input, Option Volatility [Member] | Cable One Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.300	0.300
Measurement Input, Option Volatility [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.300	0.300
Measurement Input, EBITDA Multiple [Member] | Cable One Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.100	0.100
Measurement Input, EBITDA Multiple [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.100	0.100
Measurement Input, Risk Free Interest Rate [Member] | Cable One Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.065	0.050
Measurement Input, Risk Free Interest Rate [Member] | MBI Net Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.080	0.065
Measurement Input, Cost of Debt [Member] | Cable One Option [Member]
Derivative liability, measurement input	0.050	0.040

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Note 11 - Stockholders' Equity (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		81 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021	Mar. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021	Jul. 01, 2015
Treasury Stock, Shares, Ending Balance (in shares)	163,609		163,609	129,037
Stock Repurchase Program, Authorized Amount					$ 250,000
Stock Repurchase Program, Number of Shares Authorized to be Repurchased (in shares)					600,000
Treasury Stock, Shares, Acquired (in shares)	47,800		258,431
Treasury Stock, Value, Acquired, Cost Method	$ 69,695		$ 174,600
Payment, Tax Withholding, Share-based Payment Arrangement	$ 4,676	$ 7,741
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Shares Withheld for Tax Withholding Obligation (in shares)	2,681	3,493

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Note 12 - Equity-based Compensation (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Expense, Tax Benefit	$ 0.6	$ 3.6
Deferred Tax Assets, Tax Deferred Expense, Compensation and Benefits, Share-based Compensation Cost	4.2
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Excluding Option, Cost Not yet Recognized, Amount	$ 39.9
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition (Year)	1 year 9 months 18 days
Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) [Member]
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Excluding Option, Cost Not yet Recognized, Amount	$ 4.8
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition (Year)	1 year 2 months 12 days
The 2015 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant (in shares)	61,666

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Note 12 - Equity-based Compensation - Compensation Expense (Details) - Selling, General and Administrative Expenses [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Share-based compensation expense	$ 5,205	$ 4,127
Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based compensation expense	4,637	3,424
Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) [Member]
Share-based compensation expense	$ 568	$ 703

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Note 12 - Equity-based Compensation - Restricted Stock (Details) - Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units [Member]	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022 $ / shares shares
Unvested, restricted stock (in shares) | shares	34,026
Unvested, restricted stock, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 1,487.02
Granted, restricted stock (in shares) | shares	16,849
Granted, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 1,743.82
Forfeited, restricted stock (in shares) | shares	(940)
Forfeited, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 1,882.16
Vested and issued, restricted stock (in shares) | shares	(7,186)
Vested and issued, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 1,164.87
Unvested, restricted stock (in shares) | shares	42,749
Unvested, restricted stock, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 1,633.70
Vested and unissued, restricted stock (in shares) | shares	5,978
Vested and unissued, restricted stock, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 756.32

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Note 12 - Equity-based Compensation - Stock Appreciation Rights (Details) - Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) [Member] - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2022	Mar. 31, 2022
Outstanding, stock appreciation rights (in shares)	45,740	45,740
Outstanding, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 1,075.34	$ 1,075.34
Outstanding, weighted average fair value (in dollars per share)	$ 263.62	$ 263.62
Outstanding, aggregate intrinsic value	$ 32,897	$ 22,019
Weighted average remaining contractual term, outstanding (Year)	7 years 1 month 6 days	6 years 9 months 18 days
Granted, restricted stock (in shares)		0
Granted, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)		$ 0
Granted, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share)		$ 0
Exercised, stock appreciation rights (in shares)		0
Exercised, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)		$ 0
Exercised, weighted average fair value (in dollars per share)		$ 0
Exercised, aggregate intrinsic value		$ 0
Forfeited, stock appreciation rights (in shares)		(1,750)
Forfeited, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)		$ 1,492.73
Forfeited, weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share)		$ 375.76
Outstanding, stock appreciation rights (in shares)		43,990
Outstanding, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)		$ 1,058.73
Outstanding, weighted average fair value (in dollars per share)		$ 259.16
Vested and exercisable, stock appreciation rights (in shares)		27,365
Vested and exercisable, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)		$ 806.36
Vested and exercisable, weighted average fair value (in dollars per share)		$ 190.78
Vested and exercisable, aggregate intrinsic value		$ 18,697
Weighted average remaining contractual term, vested and exercisable (Year)		6 years

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Note 13 - Income Taxes (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Percent, Total	19.80%	20.40%
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Other Adjustments, Amount	$ 15.2
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Change in Deferred Tax Assets Valuation Allowance, Amount	4.9
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Nondeductible Expense, Share-based Payment Arrangement, Amount	$ 3.0

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Note 14 - Other Income and Expense - Other Income and Expenses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Write-off of debt issuance costs	$ 0	$ (487)
Interest and investment income	3,443	3,225
Mark-to-market adjustments and other	7	(198)
Other income (expense), net	88,060	8,100
MBI Net Option [Member]
MBI Net Option fair value adjustment	$ 84,610	$ 5,560

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Note 15 - Net Income Per Common Share (Details Textual)		3 Months Ended
	Mar. 05, 2021	Mar. 31, 2022
The 2026 Notes and the 2028 Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Ratio	0.4394	0.4394

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Note 15 - Net Income Per Common Share - Computation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
		Mar. 31, 2022	Mar. 31, 2021
Net income		$ 171,476	$ 68,582
Add: Convertible Notes interest expense, net of tax		1,543	462
Net income - diluted		$ 173,019	$ 69,044
Basic (in shares)		6,018,881	6,012,402
Effect of dilutive equity-based compensation awards (in shares)	[1]	21,834	40,443
Effect of dilution from if-converted Convertible Notes (in shares)	[2]	404,248	115,416
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)		6,444,963	6,168,261
Basic (in dollars per share)		$ 28.49	$ 11.41
Diluted (in dollars per share)		$ 26.85	$ 11.19
Anti-dilutive shares from equity-based compensation awards(1) (in shares)	[1]	16,319	7,232

[1] Equity-based awards whose impact is considered to be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method were excluded from the diluted net income per common share calculation.

[2] Based on a conversion rate of 0.4394 shares of common stock per weighted $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes outstanding during both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.

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Note 16 - Commitments and Contingencies (Details Textual) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2022 USD ($)
Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member]
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	$ 44.1