Distressed cable, satellite bonds pressured; DISH, Viasat, Cox drop; CSC notes flat

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Sept. 27 – The distressed cable and satellite space remained mostly under pressure in strong selling on Wednesday.

DISH Network Corp.’s 7¾% senior notes due 2026 (Caa2/B-) dove nearly 2 points.

The issue declined a second day and gave back 1 point in strong trading over the morning before slipping further over the afternoon.

Viasat Inc.’s notes were among the busiest names and traded flat to nearly 2 points lower.

ViaSat’s 6½% senior notes due 2028 (Caa1/B) dropped 1¾ points on $7.4 million of activity.

Cox Media Group Inc.’s 8 7/8% senior notes due 2027 (Caa1) also declined a second day and traded off ¼ point on Wednesday.

A couple of names held onto ground over the session.

Altice USA, Inc. subsidiary CSC Holdings, LLC’s 7½% senior notes due 2028 (Caa2/CCC+) were steady in light volume.

Sinclair Television Group Inc.’s 5½% senior notes due 2030 (B2/B-) added 1/8 point during the session.

Overall market tone improved after Tuesday’s wide slide.

Equities were up. The S&P 500 index eked out a 0.02% gain after closing Tuesday down 1.47%.

The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF remained soft and slipped 10 cents, or 0.14%, to $73.48.

Volatility waned slightly. The CBOE Volatility index fell 3.8% to 18.22 after closing Tuesday at its highest in nearly four months.

The weak tone in the first two sessions sent distressed index returns tumbling.

Month-to-date total returns in the S&P U.S. High Yield Corporate Distressed Bond index dropped by nearly half in the prior session from the start of the week.

In other distressed paper, Rite Aid Corp.’s 8% senior secured notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC-/B) continued to soften with bankruptcy chatter surrounding the retailer.

The 8% senior secured notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC-/B) fell ¼ point after giving back about 3 points on Tuesday.

DISH softens further

DISH DBS Corp.’s 7¾% senior notes due 2026 (Caa2/B-) declined a second day and shed 1 point on over $8 million of trading before lunch Wednesday, a source said.

Headed into the close, the issue was quoted down over 1¾ points at 74¾ bid on $12.25 million of secondary activity.

The notes were yielding over 20%.

The Englewood, Colo.-based satellite cable operator’s 7¾% issue gave back ½ point on Tuesday on more than $13.65 million of volume.

Viasat declines

Viasat’s 6½% senior notes due 2028 (Caa1/B) dropped 1¾ points to 68¼ bid on $7.4 million of trading action on Wednesday in one of the most active names in the space, according to a market source.

The company’s 7½% senior notes due 2031 (Caa1/B) traded flat at 65 bid on $4 million of volume.

Viasat is a Carlsbad, Calif.-based satellite broadband services provider.

Cox lower

Cox Media’s 8 7/8% senior notes due 2027 (Caa1) moved down ¼ point to 78 bid on $4 million of trading on Wednesday, a source said.

The bonds were yielding 16.28%.

In the prior session, the notes dropped about ¾ point on $15.8 million of secondary supply.

The notes were issued in 2020 by Terrier Media Buyer, Inc., doing business as Cox Media Group, a New York City-based media company that operates cable affiliates, radio stations and news stations.

CSC steady

Meanwhile, Altice USA subsidiary CSC Holdings’ 7½% senior notes due 2028 (Caa2/CCC+) were unchanged on Wednesday at 66¾ bid and yielding over 19%, a market source said.

Trading was at $2.5 million in the issue.

Altice is a New York-based broadband communications provider.

Sinclair improves

Among the day’s gainers, Sinclair Television Group’s 5½% senior notes due 2030 (B2/B-) traded 1/8 point higher on Wednesday at 53 bid and yielding 18.2%, a market source said.

Secondary action totaled over $4 million.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., a Hunt Valley, Md.-based telecommunications and media company, is being sued by subsidiary sports broadcaster Diamond Sports Group LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.

Rite Aid lower

In other distressed paper, Rite Aid’s 8% senior secured notes due 2026 (Caa3/CCC-/B) fell ¼ point to 58 bid on $3.5 million of trading Wednesday afternoon, a source said.

The yield was just shy of 29½%.

Rite Aid’s issue declined about 3 points on Tuesday to 58¼ bid on $2 million of secondary volume.

The company’s bonds and stock have been volatile following a Wall Street Journal report on Friday that the retailer is negotiating a bankrupting filing that would include liquidating the bulk of its more than 2,300 stores.

The Camp Hill, Pa.-based drugstore chain’s stock (NYSE: RAD) rallied 19% to close at 51 cents in heavy trading on Wednesday. Shares plunged over 30% at the start of the week.

Distressed index declines

S&P U.S. High Yield Corporate Distressed Bond index one-day total returns slid to minus 0.5% in the weak market environment on Tuesday from minus 0.09% on Monday.

Month-to-date total returns dropped by nearly half to 0.52% on Tuesday from 1.02% at the week’s start.

Year-to-date distressed total returns fell to 17.73% in the prior session from 18.32% on Monday.

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