Disney Channels Can’t Be Seen By Millions
Recently, Disney made the decision to pull all of its channels off of Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable service, which is the second-largest cable company in the US with around 14.7 million subscribers. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the two media giants are still discussing the carriage dispute, with there being a “big gulf” between the two regarding settling on a new carriage agreement. In the meantime, those who are subscribed to Spectrum are missing out on ESPN, Disney Channel, National Geographic, FX, Freeform, and several local ABC broadcast networks where Disney owns the station until the agreement is resolved.
Disney pulled every channel it owns, from ESPN and Disney Channel to FX and Freeform, from Charter’s Spectrum cable service until a new deal is in place.
Carriage negotiations involve the costs and conditions of one company providing a good or service to another. In this case, it seems like streaming is playing a big role in the disagreement between the two corporations.
A source close to Disney told the Hollywood Reporter that Charter wants to be able to offer the streaming services Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu in a bundle without any extra payments, while Disney is looking for a deal where Charter can sell the services to customers or bundle the streaming services with other packages, amongst other options. However, Charter has told Wall Street analysts that the House of Mouse was only able to build its streaming services off the revenue generated from its linear channels.
Disney and Charter are arguing over how the channels will be sold to consumers.
In other words, will Spectrum customers need to subscribe to the streaming services they want individually along with paying their cable subscription, or will they be able to bundle everything together and get streaming and cable all for one cost?
While these two corporations quibble over the money details, customers will likely have to find alternative ways to get the content they want. In the meantime, Charter is offering customers who call the customer service line a $15 rebate due to the missing channels, and it’s always possible this could expand in the future if these negotiations don’t wrap up soon.
Disney has gotten its way with these deals a few times, with Dish Network and YouTube TV being notable examples of carriage disputes the company has since resolved.
The streaming and cord-cutting argument has been going on for a while now, but with so many streaming services out there, it’s becoming just as expensive as cable for consumers to get access to all of the content they want.
Companies like Disney and Charter are also trying to get customers to move to streaming services that also offer live TV for an additional cost, such as Hulu with Live TV or Fubo, which Charter is offering a discounted rate on for three months if customers move over to it. In any case, it does seem like this deal will have long-term repercussions for the TV provider business.
Disney has gotten its way with these deals a few times, with Dish Network and YouTube TV being notable examples of carriage disputes the company has since resolved. It’s possible that Charter may not cave to what Disney wants out of the deal, but that remains to be seen. Still, you have to imagine something will be resolved soon, but we’ll keep you updated on the progress of this negotiation either way.
