Charlie Riedel/AP
The Walt Disney Company claims the ball is in Charter Communications’ court to bring its channels back to Spectrum.
Over Labor Day Weekend, Spectrum subscribers were blindsided when ESPN — as well as all other channels owned by Disney — were pulled from cable provider. As a result, more than 15 million customers were unable to enjoy a packed sports weekend that included the tennis U.S. Open and college football.
The possibility of the channels being pulled was speculated for days leading up to it actually happen. Charter has insisted that Disney include its direct-to-consumer services — such as its streaming platforms — in Spectrum’s cable bundles at no additional cost. If that can’t be done, Charter has also suggested allowing more flexibility in its bundles.
The reason Charter’s demanding the services in its bundles is because it feels Disney’s current cable suite isn’t worth the $2.3 billion for which it’s paying. Additionally, the media company believes Disney’s investments in its own streaming platforms are actively making its cable bundles obsolete. Disney, on the other hand, believes the services complement one another.
“With The Walt Disney Company, we have proposed a model that we believe creates better alignment for the industry and better options for our customers,” Charter said in a Friday statement. “We are at the edge of the precipice, which The Walt Disney Company itself forecasted. For more than a decade, executives and analysts have acknowledged that the path of linear video is unsustainable, and the business model must evolve. Analyst Craig Moffett has stated that ‘linear TV is hanging by a thread’ and that ‘it all comes down to Disney.””
The following Thursday, Disney released its own statement claiming Charter “decided to abandon their consumers.”
“As the U.S. Open reaches the men’s and women’s finals and fans gear up for a weekend of college football and the opening of the NFL season, it’s unfortunate that Charter decided to abandon their consumers by denying them access to our great programming,” Disney said. “While they have stated their ‘indifference’ to the needs of millions of paying customers, we will not lose sight of what’s important — investing in the highest-quality stories, news and sports for our audience.
“The question for Charter is clear: Do you care about your subscribers and what they’re telling you they want — or not? Disney stands ready to resolve this dispute and do what’s in the best interest of Charter’s customers.”
New Statement From The Walt Disney Company Regarding Charter pic.twitter.com/awgxCxC3fz
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 7, 2023
It’s unknown if the issue will be resolved in time for the first Monday Night Football of the season in a few days; but as CNN noted, Disney encouraging its users to subscribe to Hulu + Live TV and Charter pushing FuboTV suggest that it won’t be going away any time soon.
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