The Disney/ESPN vs.Spectrum Fight Is Over
And Spectrum may have come out on top
Looks like the ESPN/Disney vs. Charter Spectrum feud is over and although we don’t have a lot of details yet, Spectrum appears to be the winner.
Spectrum subscribers will get Disney Plus Basic - the add supported tier - and ESPN+ as well.
You’ll also be able to purchase Disney+, Hulu or the Disney Bundle (both of those plus ESPN) through Spectrum. And at whatever point ESPN’s new standalone streaming service cranks up, you’ll get that as well.
Disney also owns National Geographic, FX, ABC and various conference networks. Those should also return.
We’ll be interested to see the specifics when and if they leak. Pretty clearly Disney is struggling and linear TV is slowly fading away. With Spectrum apparently winning this round, it’s going to be interesting to see how the other cable systems tangle with the Mouse. It’s also going to be interesting to see how Disney manages the decline of ESPN. If revenue continues to decline, eventually the expensive contracts will too - or someone else will be paying for them.