Charter Says Disney Carriage Fight Will Negatively Affect Its Financials
September 01 2023 - 8:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Will Feuer
Charter Communications said its carriage dispute with Disney
will negatively affect its operations and financials.
The cable company's efforts to reach an agreement with Disney
that would allow Charter to continue to carry Disney's channels,
including ESPN, have grown contentious. Disney has pulled its
channels from Charter's cable unit, Spectrum, leaving subscribers
without the ability to watch the U.S. Open, among other
programs.
Charter said in an investor presentation that the decision by
Disney "will impact our operations and financials." Charter said it
is paying about $2.2 billion a year to Disney, not including
advertising revenue for both parties, and only about 25% of
Spectrum subscribers regularly engage with Disney content.
"Alternatively, forcing customers to pay for Disney content they
opted out of, or don't view and pay even higher rates, would
negatively impact our connectivity relationships," Charter
said.
The dispute between Charter and Disney comes as cable companies
reckon with accelerating cord cutting as consumers focus more on
streaming platforms. Disney's ESPN channel and its sister networks
are among the most expensive channels for pay-TV distributors
because of the high cost of sports-broadcasting rights.
Charter said it wants to work with Disney to establish packages
that provide more flexibility for customers. Charter said it has
offered to market Disney's streaming services to its internet
customers, but Disney declined.
"Disney and Charter will either create value for the video
consumer, or we will pivot to alternative video solutions," Charter
said.
Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 01, 2023 08:20 ET (12:20 GMT)
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