Charter Spectrum TV Select Plus Customers Now Get ESPN+ at No Additional Charge
Less than seven months after Charter subscribers were blacked out from all Disney-owned channels, Charter Spectrum TV Select Plus customers are now getting ESPN+ at no additional cost.
The addition of the sports streaming service, which typically costs $10.99 per month, was part of the agreement that Disney and Charter reached last September.
At the crux of the showdown between Charter and Disney was the former’s assertion that Spectrum subscribers should have access to Disney’s direct-to-consumer services for the price they were paying.
“They’re focused on direct-to-consumer businesses as if it was a completely separate business,” Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said. “I don’t think it’s a separate business. You have to take a look at the two together; you have a consolidated set of cash flows.”
More Customers For Disney
While Disney has previously drawn a clear line between its linear television stations and streaming, Bob Iger has previously stated that these kinds of agreements are good for both parties involved. After Spectrum customers got Disney+ for free, Iger said that there was no downside.
“Well, there’s really no con, although I guess some people would suggest that a wholesale rate is not as strong as a retail rate. But let’s — I want to point out that we are infusing the platform with advertising. And so if you can — by a basically wholesale agreement, you can increase your subscribers, that obviously helps generate more revenue on the advertising front.
“There are no other cons to it at all. It’s a win-win proposition for Charter and for Disney. We obviously get the Charter subscribers, all will get Disney+. That’s a good thing, particularly as it relates to what I just discussed.”
“Wholesale sale or distribution of our apps will always be some component of what we do. Obviously, we prefer retail, but wholesale is fine, too, as we seek to grow subs. One thing we have to look at carefully is in wholesale, whether the churn rates are higher than they would be in retail sales. We need to have access to consumers, we need to know when they might be potentially a consumer that’s about to lapse.”
Charter TV Select Plus Customers Now Get Disney+ and ESPN+
CharterTV Select Plus customers will now get both Disney+ and ESPN+ included with their service. Disney, meanwhile, has a new base of subscribers for both of its streaming platforms. In the end, that sounds like a win for everyone involved.