NEWS: Millions Left Without Access To Disney TV Channels Due to Contract Dispute

Remember the good old days when whatever was playing on cable was what you tuned into?

Disney certainly does, since it’s been in the cable network game for quite some time. Recently, though, CEO Bob Iger has mentioned the possibility of getting rid of Disney’s linear networks to focus on streaming. And now, a new contract dispute has left millions without access to Disney’s TV channels.

In a battle over contract fees, cable company Charter Communications has pulled all Disney-owned channels from its feeds, according to CNBC. This leaves millions of people without access to channels like ESPN and programming like the U.S. Open, college football, and potentially “Monday Night Football.”

©ESPN

Disney shared on August 31st that the companies have been negotiating but have yet to agree to a new deal — which resulted in Charter’s customers losing access to ABC, ESPN, FX, and the Disney Channel. Charter’s Spectrum TV service boasts around 14.7 million customers in 41 states.

©Disney

“This is not a typical carriage dispute,” said Charter CEO Chris Winfrey in a call with investors Friday. While disputes like this are common in the industry, this one appears to be different.

Charter executives said they pushed for a new deal with Disney that would allow customers to receive access to Disney+ and ESPN+ at no additional cost, and that they had already accepted Disney’s request for higher fees.

©Disney

Per CNBC, ESPN gets $9.42 per subscriber per month, while ESPN2, FX, and Disney Channel get $1.21, $0.93, and $1.25, respectively.

The two companies last renewed their contract in 2019 and it included Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu into its cable boxes to give customers access to those streaming services as well.

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently commented on the fact that assessing the company’s linear TV networks is among his top priorities, even saying Disney could be open to selling those networks off.

It doesn’t look like Disney has commented on this contract dispute, but we’ll be keeping an eye on this situation as it develops. For the latest Disney news, stay tuned to AllEars.