Disney and Charter Communications have reached a deal that will see ESPN and all other Disney-owned channels return to Spectrum broadcasting. CNBC’s David Faber first shared word of an impending on the September 11 edition of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” with numerous outlets now reporting on a closed deal.
Disney, Charter Communications Nearing Deal
The deal comes just hours before the first Monday Night Football game of the 2023 NFL season. Disney exclusively broadcasts Monday Night Football on ESPN, meaning that Spectrum subscribers would have been left in the dark for the upcoming matchup between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.
According to CNBC’s report on the deal, the agreement “include[s] a discounted wholesale price for subscribers for Disney streaming services, and an increase in marketplace, or subscriber fees, paid to Disney.”
Faber speculated that concessions regarding the Disney+ streaming service would be made during his appearance on “Squawk Box,” referencing corporate agreements like the one that Warner Bros. currently has with Charter that sees Faber and other Spectrum users receive access to the Max streaming service.
You know, whether it’s a marketplace deal, would you have to believe involves some sort of give here by Disney on its direct to consumer, perhaps just Disney+. Charter had been asking basically for its subscribers to get the ad supported tier for free, not for free, for what they were paying for no more price than the increase that was built in . . . Let’s see if it does include Disney+, for example, perhaps at some lower price for Charter subscribers, but there’ll be promoting it to them.
David Faber, CNBC’s “Squawk Box”
Neither Disney nor Charter Communications commented on the deal when asked by CNBC. Disney-owned channels are set to return to Spectrum broadcasting at some point on Monday, likely before kickoff of the football game.
Disney, Charter Communications Dispute
Disney recently pulled all of their broadcasting channels from Spectrum due to a contract dispute with Charter Communications. The dispute centered around how much Disney wanted to charge Charter for their content and how much Charter customers would pay. Disney pulled their channels from Spectrum ahead of Labor Day weekend, leaving Spectrum subscribers without direct access to the opening weekend of NCAA football and the U.S. Open.
Disney set up keepmynetworks.com with links for Spectrum customers to contact Spectrum and tell them they want to keep Disney networks, as well as help for switching providers. Disney also saw a spike in Hulu + Live TV sales amid the dispute.
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