Here’s what the end of the Disney-Spectrum fight means, in plain English
After a 10-day standoff that affected millions of viewers, lineup changes big and small are coming to cable
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Rest easy, sports fans: Disney and Charter Communications, the company behind Spectrum cable service, have reached a deal. In a fight that reflects the evolving nature of television, the two corporations had been in a standoff since August 31. For now, cable television will live to see another day—though streaming continues to be an existential threat to the industry, as is its wont.
As recently as July of this year, Disney CEO Bob Iger teased that the company would find a way to deliver its sports programming, namely ESPN, directly to consumers—yet another incentive for audiences to cut the cord with cable. According to the Los Angeles Times, Iger’s plan for ESPN “was one of several factors” that caused the divide between Disney and Charter Communications. The agreement between the two expired on August 31, and two dozen Disney channels went dark for Spectrum users right in the middle of ESPN’s airing of the U.S. Open.
Spectrum, the second-largest cable company in the country, serves a reported 15 million subscribers (per CNN), so you can imagine there were some unhappy sports enthusiasts out there. But Charter Communications was ready to take a stand, threatening to leave the television business altogether if Disney didn’t offer a good deal. It would be a financial loss for both companies, as Spectrum pays billions of dollars for Disney programming. But cable, while profitable, is a smaller segment of Charter’s business than its broadband internet and wireless phone service (per the L.A. Times), so it was a stand the company was willing to take.
“The Walt Disney Company has removed their programming from Spectrum which creates hardship for our customers. We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase. They also want to limit our ability to provide greater customer choice in programming packages, forcing you to take and pay for channels you may not want,” Spectrum said in a note to subscribers at the end of August (per The Hollywood Reporter). “The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable TV prices, and we are fighting hard to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney.”
Spectrum subscribers will now get Disney+
Disney initially balked at some of Charter’s demands, particularly that Spectrum subscribers be given access to Disney’s own direct-to-consumer services like Disney+, per CNN. But the companies ultimately came to an agreement after a 10-day blackout, with Disney conceding to give Spectrum customers Disney+ with ads at no additional cost to the consumer. ESPN+ will be available to customers with the Spectrum TV Select Plus package, and whenever that direct-to-consumer ESPN streaming service does launch, Select Plus users will also have access to it, according to THR. With flexibility being another of Spectrum’s sticking points, the company also promises it “will maintain flexibility to offer a range of video packages at varying price points based upon different customer viewing preferences.”
“Our collective goal has always been to build an innovative model for the future,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey in a joint statement (via THR). “This deal recognizes both the continued value of linear television and the growing popularity of streaming services while addressing the evolving needs of our consumers. 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.”
Some channels aren’t returning to Spectrum
Spectrum didn’t get everything, though. Its cable packages will no longer carry Freeform, FXX, Disney Junior, Disney XD, FXM, Baby TV, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Mundo. Those networks are still available to Xfinity customers (whose parent company Comcast is Charter’s biggest cable competitor) under its 2021 agreement with Disney. More notably, they’re available via Disney’s direct-to-consumer services like Hulu. (Hulu + Live TV allegedly saw a 60% increase in subscribers amid the dispute with Spectrum, according to Deadline.) While much of this programming will likely make its way to Disney+ eventually, not all of it can be watched on that streamer live.
Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden told The Hollywood Reporter that it was interested in “windowing to our streaming platforms” in specific areas (like “the adult female demographic” over at Freeform). “So for us what’s most important is that we’re maintaining channels where they are valuable to us in the distribution ecosystem, and then we’re making sure that we have a solid pipeline of that programming to Hulu or Disney+,” she said, touting that the company “protected our primary entertainment channels” in the Spectrum deal.
The TL;DR is that cable will continue … for now. At a time when the future of television (and the entertainment industry as a whole) is up in the air, streaming is still very much threatening to subsume the entire business. After all, how long will customers continue paying for Disney+ with ads on cable before deciding to go straight to the source? On the other hand, the streaming model has proven extremely tenuous, as Hollywood’s current strikes have laid bare. Perhaps if cable continues to hold out, it may once again become the dominant form of television consumption. For now, though, it seems streaming continues to reign supreme.
33 Comments
Disney+ with ads? Hard fucking pass. No Disney Jr???? My 3 year old is going to kill ol Iger.
So we get the benefits of your murderous toddler’s rage and unless you live in California (or are not-white) they won’t charge them as an adult?Win-win, I say let them at him.
If we unleashed an onslaught of 2-6 yr old’s at them, they’d have no choice. I can barely handle 2 let alone thousands/millions.
My kids are pissed.
I can’t imagine how one explains cable content negotiations and the outcomes to a toddler. You can’t just tell her that the channel went to live on a farm like the dog did.
My girl (not a toddler, but young) asked me yesterday before I found out about this if Disney Jr. was ever coming back. I said it would come back when they finish arguing. Then last night I saw it was not coming back and I told her they couldn’t agree and she was like what were they arguing about? I said “the same thing adults always argue about: money.” She said that was a silly thing to argue about.(This sounds like one of those made up Instagram convos but it’s true lol)
They also want to limit our ability to provide greater customer choice in programming packages, forcing you to take and pay for channels you may not wantAnd this right here is why I don’t miss cable. You can complain about there being “too many” streaming services all you want, but I get to choose which ones I do and don’t subscribe to.Having said that, fuck Disney.
for now you do.
The loss of those second rate cable channels probably won’t hurt Spectrum that much. Once Archer is over in the next few months, the only original programming left on FXX is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Not a huge loss unless you enjoyed their Simpsons marathons. FXM shows 2-10 year old movies that you can probably find elsewhere. On Freeform, Grown-ish is airing its last season and the rest of their shows, Good Trouble, Cruel Summer and Praise Petey are in limbo. The Nat Geo networks have some original programming, but it’s mostly nature shows. The loss of the Disney channels might hurt if you have kids, but once again, the programming on those channels are mostly repeats.
Pretty sure What We Do in the Shadows is on FXX too, but both that and Archer are also on Hulu right away so no loss there.
What We Do In The Shadows is on regular FX. All of FX, FXX and Freeform’s programming is on Hulu the next day.
Freeform is a loss. It’s one of the few cable channels making new scripted shows.
The funny thing is, I probably watch Pluto more than my DirecTV stream cable setup, but then again, I’m getting to be an old fart now. Saying “getting to be an old fart” usually means “I am an old fart in denial”.
I’m surprised none of the US Open was on ABC.I get it’s football season, but you’d think they’d at least show the finals.
They’d better not drop Corncob TV!
I’d miss me some Coffin Flop, ya big dumb hick. I’ve been waiting forever for a hit show.
They told me I was just some DUMB HICK. They said that to ME, at a dinner
This is hella fucking annoying. I already dislike Spectrum but it’s all that’s available in my area without a satellite. We have Disney+ already so it’s not that we’re losing access to the programming, but my kids are too young to navigate through the streaming so I have to do it, plus they have limited TV time anyway and it’s easier when we can just watch what’s on. Fortunately we still have Universal Kids and Nick Jr., though those channels have commercials. And I’m pissed about FXX, even though we also have Hulu. I have the streaming platforms but the reason we don’t cut the cord is because it’s just easier to watch TV and get a nice little surprise about what’s on and seeing it’s your favorite episode rather than going to a streaming service and searching them out. Idk, it’s probably that I’m just old, but this whole thing is annoying to me, and my kids are pissed that they can’t just hit 111 and watch Bluey. Plus my girl loves all the vet shows on Wild.Also Spectrum’s interface sucks ass.
Ditto on the easy part. I will really miss channel surfing when streamers finally win out, especially during sports. Cable is easy to use and you can just watch everything without really watching anything. Right now I’m watching CNN and my local baseball team on Bally’s at same time depending on commercials, etc.
Totally. I’ll miss the days when you could just … watch TV. I never thought that would be a thing of the past but it looks inevitable at this point. It’s the same reason I still just listen to radio stations in the car rather than streaming from my phone. I want to just let the universe bring me what entertainment it will sometimes. It sounds stupid but when you’re an adult making decisions all day, you don’t always want to have to also make curated decisions about what you’ll watch or listen to at any given time.Plus yeah as you say it’s harder to flip back and forth on streaming. Bah. I should read more anyway.
it’s funny how much i’ve retrofitted my youtube viewing habits to essentially recreate things that 30 years ago i would flip the channel through to avoid.i’ve basically turned it into PBS on sunday afternoon.
You guys do know that you can cut the cord but still stream cable through an app on a streaming device like Roku or Amazon’s firestick TV, right? And you’ll save when you return your cable box.Once you download, setup, and open the app, it’s literally the same interface wise as you’d get on your cable box.
I don’t know much of anything, man. But this is appreciated.
We’ve looked at Roku briefly. Sounds interesting and like it has potential. What, if any, are the downsides?
“Plus yeah as you say it’s harder to flip back and forth on streaming.”first world problem Lol
I live in the “first world.”
Even though we can listen to any song we could ever want at any time we want, there’s still a fun thrill when a song you love comes on the radio randomly and surprises you.
Absolutely!
You can sort of recreate channel surfing on Pluto TV, but it’s not the same since their channels are mostly a weird hodgepodge rather than well-known networks. I was mildly amused by the 24/7 Baywatch channel though and rediscovered the joys of catching a movie on TV and half-watching it while doing other things.
This dispute was the thing that finally broke my complacency to cut the cord. Not being able to watch ESPN during college football pissed me off enough to sign up for a free trial of YouTube TV (which is cheaper than my current cable package). Now I just need to cancel my Spectrum TV service. Tried calling this afternoon and was told that the line to speak with retention/cancellation was 600 people deep.
My story eerily mirrors yours (right down to picking up YouTube TV yesterday) except my sticking point was refusing to miss the WNBA playoffs. And I didn’t even get a queue or an “anticipated wait time” when I called Spectrum to finally cancel. The automated message assured me that the Disney standoff was short-term, then told me that call volumes are unexpectedly high right now, and my call cannot be taken. (!) Then it hung up on me.I immediately called back and picked a different option involving speaking to a representative, from the menu, and (SHOCKER) I got through to someone after just a 7-8 minute hold. No idea if the same tactic might work for you, but I figure it’s worth mentioning.
There was once a big fight here in Canada between television networks and cable companies. Then they just merged and the fighting went away. CTV is now owned by Bell Media, and Global is owned by Corus, a subsidiary of Shaw Communications (and Shaw was recently acquired by another cable company, Rogers).Media consolidation! It’s the wave of the future!
love to pay the most money of any developed country for my cellphone plan, too.