Disney Entertainment-owned channels including ABC and ESPN went dark for Charter Spectrum customers on Thursday night after the companies failed to agree on charter terms to carry Disney programming.
The so-called carriage dispute came to a head when ESPN was broadcasting both the US Open tennis tournament and a college football game between the University of Utah and the University of Florida. Broadband and cable service provider company Charter has 14.7 million customers.
Disney-owned channels affected by the blackout include Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, National Geographic, and several local stations on the ABC network. Some of the major cities affected include Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Houston.
“The Walt Disney Company has removed its programming from Spectrum, causing hardship for our customers,” Spectrum said in a statement on Charter-maintained website disneyespnfairdeal.com. “We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are asking for exorbitant increases.”
The cable provider said Disney wants to limit the choice of packages for viewers, thereby forcing them to pay for channels they don’t necessarily want.
“They also seek to limit our ability to offer customers more choice in programming packages, forcing you to pay for channels you don’t want,” Spectrum said. “The rising cost of programming is one of the biggest reasons for the high prices of cable TV, and we’re working hard to block the programming rates charged to us by companies like Disney.”
Disney defended its pricing in a statement to CBS News. “Disney Entertainment has made successful deals with pay TV providers of all types and sizes across the country, and the rates and terms we seek in this renewal are market-driven,” the entertainment giant said.
Disney and Spectrum both say they will continue talks.
“We remain committed to reaching a mutually agreeable solution with Charter and we urge them to work with us to minimize disruption to their customers,” Disney said.
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