On one of the biggest cable providers in the country, fans of sports as well as Disney content will have to make do without.
On Thursday night, Disney yanked its programming from Charter Spectrum, despite the Disney-owned ESPN networks airing live coverage of important athletic events like the US Open and college football.
In a presentation given before an investor webcast, Charter Communications stated that despite a broken “video ecosystem,” Disney “has insisted on a traditional long-term agreement that includes higher rates & limited packaging flexibility.” Disney rejected our proposal, and on August 31 it stopped providing its video channels to Charter’s video subscribers.
The cable company claims that the media conglomerate’s proposal would result in a huge price hike for consumers, who would also be forced to pay for channels they might not be interested in. This kind of agreement between cable companies and channel owners has long been the standard, but the emergence of the streaming model has increased pressure on both parties.
On its website, Charter claims to have 14.7 million video subscribers.
In a statement, Disney Entertainment claimed that it “has successful agreements in place with pay-TV providers of all shapes and sizes across the country, and the prices and terms we are asking in this renewal are driven by the market. We want to work with Charter to limit the impact on their customers, and we’re dedicated to finding a solution that benefits all parties.
Fans of sports including football games between the University of Florida & the University of Utah and the second-round US Open match between No. 1 men’s tennis player Carlos Alcaraz & Lloyd Harris on ESPN were left in suspense due to the issue.
US Open Tennis made a statement on X, the social networking site formerly known as Twitter, stating that it was “very disappointed for our fans and viewers across the country that Spectrum & Charter were unable to settle their dispute with Disney, leading to a loss of ESPN coverage of Thursday night’s matches.” “We’re hoping that this conflict can be settled as soon as possible.”
Conflicts over carriage costs are nothing new, especially now that cord-cutting and streaming have eroded the old cable business. In some cases, these conflicts can turn ugly, though Disney did have to settle one with the streaming provider YouTube TV in 2021.