Disney & Charter Strike Expanded Distribution Deal

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications have inked a new multiyear distribution agreement to continue to deliver Disney’s lineup of sports, news and entertainment content to Spectrum customers.

Regarding children’s entertainment, Spectrum TV will continue to provide its customers Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD, as well as the newly acquired BabyTV. The agreement contemplates Charter’s future distribution of Disney’s streaming services, including Hulu, ESPN+ and the soon-to-be-launched Disney+.

The full lineup for Spectrum TV includes ABC, Freeform, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded, SEC Network, Longhorn Network and the newly acquired networks of FX, FXX, FXM, Fox Life, National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo.

Spectrum TV will also offer customers access to ESPN’s upcoming ACC Network when it launches on August 22. Additionally, Disney and Charter have also agreed to work together on piracy mitigation. The two companies will collaborate to implement business rules and techniques to address such issues as unauthorized access and password sharing.

“This agreement will allow Spectrum to continue delivering to its customers popular Disney content, makes possible future distribution by Spectrum of Disney streaming services, and will begin an important collaborative effort to address the significant issue of piracy mitigation,” said Tom Montemagno, executive VP of programming acquisition for Charter.

Sean Breen, senior VP of Disney Media Distribution, said: “Our new agreement with Charter allows us to continue serving Spectrum TV customers with the full value of the Walt Disney Television and ESPN networks, including the newly acquired FX and Nat Geo networks. ACC fans can also rest assured that they will be able to watch their favorite teams on Spectrum, one of the largest distributors across the ACC footprint, when ACC Network launches next week.”