Charter Expands Free Flag Replacement Program Across 45 States

By Tom Whitfield

Charter is expanding Project Stars & Stripes across Spectrum's 45-state footprint, letting field technicians replace worn, faded or damaged American flags at no cost to homeowners. Cox Communications launched the program in 2021. Charter now carries it nationwide across its Spectrum service area. Homeowners can keep the old flag or have it retired in line with the U.S. Flag Code. The company said more than 8% of its employees have a military affiliation.

Cable networks are closing out a year of programming tied to America's 250th anniversary with a full day of documentaries, live coverage and personal anecdotes on Veterans Day.

What's airing on Veterans Day?

History Channel is dedicating Wednesday to military storytelling. The lineup:

• "World War II with Tom Hanks" at 8am
• "Forged by War: The Navy SEALs" at 8pm
• The premiere of the hour-long documentary "Mission to Honor: A 250th Salute to American Veterans" at 10pm

AMC continues its tradition of airing the full "Band of Brothers" miniseries starting at 11:30am. C-SPAN will carry the Veterans Day Observance Ceremony live at 11am.

ESPN's America's Heroes Veterans Week runs through Saturday. Highlights include a 30-minute "SportsCenter" special Thursday at 7pm, an SC Featured film following Steelers great Rocky Bleier's return to Vietnam, and a military-themed edition of "College GameDay" this Saturday. Saturday also brings the Secretaries' Cup between the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Merchant Marine Academies, with kickoff set for 1pm.

Who is funding service dogs for veterans?

Armstrong is marking the 10th anniversary of its Healing Heroes program by securing funding for five more medical service dogs for veterans with disabilities across its six-state footprint. The program launched on Veterans Day 2016 with Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs. It has matched nine veterans with dogs and raised more than $350,000 since — roughly $35,000 per year over the decade. Through its "Five Dogs, Five Heroes" campaign, Armstrong is seeking veteran applicants via its website. Participants do not need to be Armstrong customers.

What is DirecTV doing with Lifetime?

DirecTV is tying its Veterans Day activity to Lifetime's "Military Makeover" and the 24/7 Military Makeover FAST channel. The company will support the Weatherholt family, featured in last Thursday's Season 46 premiere episode highlighting their newly renovated home in Jupiter, Florida. In the season's fourth episode, airing Dec. 3, DirecTV will be shown outfitting the property in a 2-3-minute segment, supplying the family with DirecTV Signature and DirecTV Gemini devices for one year.

Where is the money going?

Archtop Fiber is honoring Veterans Day with its "Fiber Freedom" campaign, giving $1,000 each — $3,000 in total — to three veterans' organizations:

• American Legion Post 429 in Rhinebeck, N.Y.
• Joyce-Schirick VFW Post 1386 in Kingston, N.Y.
• Wallkill Valley VFW Post 8441 in Vernon Township, N.J.

Archtop and WVT Fiber representatives are presenting the donations this week.

The spread of activity — from free flags and service dogs to prime-time documentaries — shows how deeply Veterans Day has become a fixture of the broadband and cable industry's community-branding calendars, with DirecTV's Dec. 3 segment extending the season's visibility into next month.