Disney and Charter Communications on Monday ended their squabble that blacked out channels including ESPN and ABC to nearly 15 million subscribers — hours before the kickoff of “Monday Night Football.”
Charter, one of the biggest cable companies in the United States, had been locked in a standoff with Disney for nearly two weeks over how much its channels are worth and how to package them.
The new deal allows Charter to offer the Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming services to its pay-TV subscribers in exchange for paying a higher carriage fee for Disney’s channels.
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey issued a joint statement Monday.
“Our collective goal has always been to build an innovative model for the future,” they said.
“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,” they added.
The dispute caused, which began Aug. 31, saw ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels disappear from Charter’s Spectrum cable service, depriving subscribers from watching major sporting events on including the US Open tennis tournament and college football games.
The deal comes hours ahead of the season’s first broadcast of “Monday Night Football,” which features the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets against the Buffalo Bills on Disney-owned ESPN.
As part of the deal the Disney+ Basic advertising-supported offering will be provided to customers who purchase the Spectrum TV Select package, as part of a wholesale arrangement.
Additionally, streaming service, ESPN+ will be provided to Spectrum TV Select Plus subscribers, and the ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service will be made available to Spectrum TV Select subscribers when it launches. Charter said it will maintain “flexibility” to offer “a range of video packages at varying price points based upon different customer viewing preferences.”
Charter and Disney’s stocks, as well as media rivals including Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global traded higher on Monday morning on the news.
At the heart of the dispute was what a revamped deal between Charter and Disney would include. Charter execs had been calling for a deal that would give Spectrum pay-TV customers free access to Disney’s ad-supported streaming apps Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.
Disney punched back, adding that its streaming and TV networks weren’t equal due to the original content that premieres exclusively on live TV and its multi-billion investments in exclusive streaming content.
Amid the public tussle, the Mouse House urged customers to subscribe to Hulu + Live TV, in order to gain access to programming from ABC and ESPN.
The Charter/ Disney battle comes as cable providers scramble to keep customers from cutting the cord, and media companies push to expand their streaming offerings to capture new subscribers.