Disney and Spectrum Deal Restores ESPN, ABC for Millions of Viewers
The deal comes just in time for Monday Night Football on ESPN.
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Spectrum's nearly 15 million cable customers once again have access to ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels as a more than weeklong channel blackout has come to an end. On Monday, Disney and Charter, the parent company of the Spectrum brand, said they'd reached a multiyear distribution agreement, restoring Disney channels for Spectrum subscribers.
The deal was announced just hours before the first Monday Night Football game of the 2023 season, which airs on ESPN. News of the deal was earlier reported by CNBC and The Wall Street Journal.
"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," said Disney CEO Bob Iger and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey in a joint statement Monday.
As part of the agreement, Disney streaming services will be bundled with some Spectrum cable packages. Disney Plus Basic with ads, which costs $8 a month, will be included with the Spectrum TV Select package, and ESPN Plus will be provided to Spectrum TV Select Plus subscribers. An additional upcoming ESPN streaming service will also be available to Spectrum TV Select subscribers when it launches, though no specific timeline was given.
Spectrum will also carry a lineup of 19 networks from Disney, including ABC stations, the Disney Channel, FX, the Nat Geo Channel and the full suite of ESPN networks. Some channels, however, are being cut. Spectrum packages will no longer include Baby TV, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FXM, FXX, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo, according to the release.
Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Disney channels went dark for Spectrum cable subscribers Aug. 31 after the companies failed to reach an agreement on how much Charter would pay Disney in exchange for the right to broadcast its many channels. Carriage disputes and channel blackouts are common, but the Disney and Spectrum standoff lasted longer than many in the past.
The loss of ESPN, one of the largest sports broadcasting networks, also came at a rough time for sports fans. It caused Spectrum subscribers to miss out on ESPN's coverage of parts of the US Open, the kickoff of college football and the beginning of the NFL regular season.