Disney and Charter have ended their dispute, thus restoring ABC and ESPN to over 15 million households. The deal allows Charter to provide ABC, ESPN+ Disney+, and other popular channels streaming services to its pay TV subscribers. The deal between Charter and Disney to end the cable blackout war comes in time for Monday Night Football. The arrangement will finally see advertisement-backed apps as part of packages for the majority of the customers of Spectrum, owned by Charter.
The timing of the deal was especially important as Monday Night Football was just hours away from the deal between Disney and Charter. The game airs on ESPN, owned by Disney. The deal will allow close to 15 million cable customers to gain access to the game. Disney will get higher subscriber fees than it gets from Charter. The deal between Disney and Charter was reported on Monday. The deal would also include a rebate on prices for the streaming services offered by Disney over Charter.
Agreement Details Between Disney And Charter
The press release by Disney and Charter said the agreement includes the basic offering, Disney+, for customers who avail of the Select package of Spectrum TV. Subscribers to Select Plus can access ESPN+. The much-awaited streaming service of ESPN will be available to Select subscribers of Spectrum TV once it is launched. The news boosted the prices of Warner Brothers and Paramount Global on the stock market. Other media peers also reported an increase in prices.
Charter had earlier announced that it would offer a lite package for sports channels. This will give customers a cheaper choice, especially if they do not watch the networks. As mentioned, ESPN+ is for the Select Plus plan only. Earlier Disney and Charter officials had fallen out over the inclusion of the Disney streaming apps that are ad-supported. However, the new deal does not give access to Disney apps, including Hulu, for all Charter customers.
