For plenty of folks, fall doesn’t officially kick off until the NFL season starts (see what we did there?).
©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters
But, a contract dispute with Charter Communications (who owns Spectrum) has left millions without access to Disney-owned cable channels — including ABC and ESPN. Disney came out with a statement saying that Charter had declined an offer to extend negotiations which would have avoided this blackout, and a class-action suit was filed against Charter. Now, it looks like there may finally be a solution.
Disney and Charter Communications have finally reached a deal that will end the cable blackout just hours before Monday Night Football kickoff.
©ESPN
Charter had removed Disney-owned networks from its service after not being able to agree on contract terms. This included ESPN, ABC, ESPN, FX, and the Disney Channel. Disney previously released a statement noting that “disputes between cable companies and content providers aren’t new.”
The agreement comes after a week-long blackout which left millions of customers without access to Disney-owned cable channels like ABC and ESPN, which are home to both NFL and NCAA games.
©Disney
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey released a joint statement and said:
“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.”
©ESPN
Here are the key points from the deal:
- 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.
©Apple
The channels will be restored to Spectrum customers effective immediately including ABC, Disney Channel, FX, Nat Geo, and ESPN.
Charter will “use its significant distribution capabilities to offer Disney’s direct-to-consumer services to all its customers” — meaning you’ll be able to purchase Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, and bundles directly through Spectrum.
©Disney
In an interview with CNBC that took place prior to the new deal being reached, Matt Belloni, founding partner of Puck Media, shared that there were “not a lot of good options for Bob Iger” when it came to working at Disney these days, speaking about the carriage dispute potentially continuing through Monday Night Football.
He continued, saying that if a deal hadn’t been reached ahead of the Monday Bills-Jets game, Spectrum would have had to face losing “a lot of customers.”
©Disney
Prior to the new agreement, a class-action lawsuit was filed alleging that Charter customers were used as a “clear money grab” from the cable company. It’s unclear how this new agreement will affect the lawsuit.
Congratulations to everyone who no longer has to deal with a Monday Night Football blackout. We’ll be keeping an eye on more updates from this news, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
NEWS: Charter-Spectrum Named in Class Action Lawsuit Over Contract Dispute with Disney
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Where is the national geographic wild channel which was pulled off of the air? That’s the channel I watch a lot of with Dr. Pol, Yukon Vet & some others.
Great. Now if they would bring back FXM 647 an METV. I would be very happy. Thank you.