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Last week, Disney blocked Charter’s Spectrum cable from accessing channels like ABC and ESPN over a disagreement between the two companies over new financial terms. Today, Disney says in a blog post that although Charter “claims to value Disney’s direct-to-consumer services,” it is “demanding these different services for free.”
With cable gradually losing customers and Disney openly musing about selling ESPN on its own as a streaming channel, Charter wanted to include Disney’s streaming apps with its subscriptions. The blackout comes during a weekend when high-profile sports events like the US Open and big college football games are happening (not to mention the first NFL games start next weekend).
Other cable companies have taken a different path in dealing with cable’s decline. Frontier and WOW!, for instance, both said to heck with it this year and essentially became YouTube TV vendors.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/3/23857501/disney-charter-spectrum-espn-blackout-cable-carriage-dispute