Charter Communications and The Walt Disney Company are currently battling over programming rates. As the two corporations fight with each other, the future of over 26 Disney and ESPN channels hangs on the line.
Update: Spectrum has now lost all of Disney’s programming across its television service. Keep reading to find out just what caused this mayhem.
Spectrum TV Service
Charter Spectrum TV, offered by Charter Communications, is a television service in the United States. It provides a variety of channels, including local, cable, sports, and premium options, along with on-demand content. Subscribers also gain access to the Spectrum TV app to watch shows and movies at their convenience, even on mobile devices. Disney currently offers over 26 options on the service, including ESPN and ABC stations.
Spectrum TV and Disney
However, the two companies have been in a major dispute over costs associated with keeping these channels available to customers. Neither Disney nor Charter seems to be backing down. While Spectrum accuses Disney of forcing excessive cost increases to keep the programming, Disney is claiming that the cable provider is not accepting its offered agreement. According to The TV Answer Man, Spectrum TV will lose the channels as early as the evening of Thursday, August 31, 2023.
Disney has provided an official statement on the battle via the website keepmynetworks.com.
We’re working hard to make sure some of America’s most watched networks such as the ESPN networks, including the ACC Network and SEC Network, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels stay available to Spectrum TV customers. If we don’t reach a new agreement with Spectrum soon, some of your favorite shows may be gone from your lineup including SportsCenter and exclusive live sports such as Monday Night Football and college football plus Mickey Mouse Funhouse, 31 Nights of Halloween, American Horror Story, Welcome to Wrexham, Life Below Zero and much more.
Contact Spectrum and let them know you want to keep these networks.
Spectrum also has released its own statement via the website disneyespnfairdeal.com.
The Walt Disney Company has threatened to remove 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 is on your side and fighting to keep costs down while protecting and maximizing customer choice. 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.
We ask for your patience as we continue to work out a deal that is fair for everyone.
Disgruntled fans are expressing their frustrations on social media. Many customers ask Spectrum to keep these channels available, or they will cancel the service. Some are even requesting the company lower rates if it loses the Disney channels.
I bet you won’t lower bills in losing those Disney channels. .@DisneyPlus
— 🟧🟦🇺🇦🇺🇸✡️💙Patrizio Woke AF Beagle Dad 🌊 (@p_hounds) August 31, 2023
Related: Dispute With Disney May Be a Deathblow for Spectrum TV
Stations at risk of removal include:
- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN News, SEC Network, ACC Network, Longhorn Network
- FX, FX Movie Channel, FXX, Freeform, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo
- Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Baby TV
- ABC On Demand programming and the following local ABC stations: ABC7 Chicago, ABC7 Los Angeles, ABC7 New York, ABC7 San Francisco, ABC11 Raleigh-Durham, ABC13 Houston, ABC30 Fresno
The two companies don’t look to be any closer to a deal. Disney CEO Bob Iger has been very cynical about the future of its television subsidiaries as of late. It will be interesting to see which of these entities emerges victorious. Regardless, Spectrum customers are the real victims here.
