Warner Bros. Discovery & Charter Clinch Early Renewal

Warner Bros. Discovery and Charter Communications have sealed a new carriage agreement that encompasses linear and streaming services, hailing the early renewal as a model for the “future of video.”

The new deal brings the ad-lite Max tier and Discovery+ to all Spectrum TV Select packages at no extra charge to customers. It also continues carriage of TNT, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, TBS, Adult Swim and Investigation Discovery. Max also becomes a “preferred partner” for Spectrum when marketing and selling DTC apps and bundles to broadband subscribers. Spectrum is planning a direct-to-consumer offer for broadband subs in 2025.

“This innovative partnership with Charter recognizes the value of our linear content and the investments we’ve made in premium original programming, sports and news, while also significantly expanding the distribution of Max’s ad-supported service to Spectrum’s millions of Select customers,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. “We did this agreement together nearly a year early to set a framework for the future and to provide more consumers access to our unparalleled content offering while giving the industry more resilience as it evolves. We are pleased this achieves each of our company’s objectives.”

“This strategic relationship with WBD further evolves the linear and broadband video distribution model and supports Spectrum’s efforts to provide flexible packages, whether through hybrid linear-DTC full video relationships, smaller video packages with DTC add-ons, or a suite of a-la-carte or bundled DTC options for broadband customers,” said Chris Winfrey, president and CEO of Charter Communications. “The inclusion of the ad-supported version of Max and Discovery+ in our most popular packages at no additional cost ensures we provide the most value to our customers, particularly when combined with the utility of Xumo, which seamlessly integrates live linear, DVR and VOD, DTC, and SVOD content with unified search and discovery for the best overall customer experience. WBD’s creativity and commitment to a healthier video ecosystem further enables us to deliver on our core principles to create value and choice for customers.”