Charter, Disney Strike Deal
Charter customers won’t have to miss the start of ESPN’s Monday Night Football tonight, with Disney and the operator announcing a deal Monday that they described as “transformative.”
Among the key deal points:
- In the coming months, the Disney+ Basic ad-supported offering will be provided to customers who purchase the Spectrum TV Select package, as part of a wholesale arrangement.
- ESPN+ will be provided to Spectrum TV Select Plus subscribers.
- The ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service will be made available to Spectrum TV Select subscribers when it launches.
- Charter will maintain flexibility to offer a range of video packages at varying price points based upon different customer viewing preferences.
- Charter will offer Disney’s direct-to-consumer services to all its customers—in particular its large broadband-only customer base—for purchase at retail rates.
The deal also lets Charter slim down the number of Disney networks it carries. Spectrum packages will no longer include Baby TV, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FXM, FXX, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo. Spectrum will continue to carry the ABC Owned Television Stations, Disney Channel, FX and the Nat Geo Channel, in addition to the full suite of ESPN networks. Those channels, which have been dark since about 8:30pm ET Aug. 30, will return to Spectrum’s lineup immediately.
“Our collective goal has always been to build an innovative model for the future. This deal recognizes both the continued value of linear television and the growing popularity of streaming services while addressing the evolving needs of our consumers. We also want to thank our mutual customers for their patience this past week and are pleased that Spectrum viewers once again have access to Disney’s high-quality sports, news and entertainment programming, in time for Monday Night Football,” Disney CEO Bob Iger and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said in a joint statement.
