• Hollywood Reporter, Thursday, February 12, 2009 9:45 AM

Paul Allen's foray into cable television may be coming to an end. Wall Street expects to see him lose his roles as controlling shareholder, which he has held for more than 10 years, and chairman of Charter Communications.

With a Sunday deadline looming, the cable operator is trying desperately to convince debt holders to let it avoid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. But Moody's analyst Russell Solomon says bankruptcy "is increasingly likely." In such a case, stockholders, including Allen, would have to yield to creditors who would take control of the process. "We wouldn't expect [Allen] to have a role going forward," Solomon says.

Two Charter subsidiaries must make interest payments worth $73.7 on Sunday. If they don't make them on time, Charter will be considered to have defaulted on its obligations. The St. Louis-based firm is the most indebted major cable firm, with net debt of about $21 billion.

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