Disney, Charter Communications end carriage dispute, report says

Disney and Charter Communications have ended a carriage dispute, with both companies signing a multiyear content distribution deal that immediately restores access to ESPN and other premium channels for almost 15 million Spectrum cable customers. 

Disney channels went dark for Spectrum customers on September 1 after the media giant and Charter, Spectrum’s parent company, failed to come to terms over carrier fees, which are payments that cable and satellite-TV operators pay to media companies to carry their networks. Charter had accused Disney of demanding “an excessive increase” to its carrier fee. 

Neither company on Monday disclosed financial terms of the deal, which was finalized before the Monday Night Football game between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills on September 11.

“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,” CEO Bob Iger of Disney and CEO Chris Winfrey of Charter said in a joint statement emailed to CBS Moneywatch.

Other Disney-owned channels on Spectrum include the Disney Channel, National Geographic, FX, ABC local stations and the SEC Network. Spectrum customers will no longer get access to Baby TV, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FXM, FXX, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo under the deal announced Monday.

As part of the new deal, customers will be able to purchase Disney+, Hulu or The Disney Bundle directly through Charter. Anyone who purchases Spectrum TV Select Plus will get the basic version of Disney+ included in their package. Spectrum TV Select Plus customers will also get ESPN+ and ESPN’s standalone streaming service, which hasn’t launched yet. 

Wall Street analysts said Monday that streaming and live sports were likely a cornerstone of the dispute.

Only 1% of U.S. households watch more than 12 hours of ESPN in the average month, according to analysts from LightShed Partners. That means Spectrum’s dedicated ESPN viewers could have easily picked a different avenue for watching live sports “a few clicks and a credit card,” analysts said in a research note Monday.