Walt Disney and Charter Communications have agreed to end a dispute over fees and terms after a 10-day ‘go dark’ stand-off. Disney will now allow Charter to offer some of its ad-supported streaming channels — including Disney+ and ESPN+ — to its customers as part of a ‘wholesale’ arrangement. Full programming has been restored to […]

Paramount CEO Bob Bakish says the stand-off between Charter and Disney is an “inevitable” consequence of the trends in DTC and pay-TV and their apparent incompatibility. He says ralationships have to “modernise” and says his company is a good example. “Frankly, it wasn’t a surprise, the exact timing was, but it was inevitable that something […]

Going dark is an extreme, but not very unusual, tactic when MSOs are negotiating package carriage deals with content companies. So far, so what? as Charter – America’s #2 cable operator – dims the lights on Disney’s channels as contract talks drag. What is different, is that Charter hasn’t shied away from (quite the opposite) […]

Charter Communications, where top Disney channels are blacked out from its 14.7 million US subscribers, sees its talks with Disney as a chance to fix a broken TV model. “Disney and Charter have the opportunity to work together on transforming the industry for the long-term benefit of both companies and consumers — but we are […]

Findings from Leichtman Research Group indicate that the largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 92 per cent of the market – lost about 5,880,000 net video subscribers in 2022, compared to a pro forma net loss of about 4,700,000 in 2021.The top pay-TV providers now account for about 70.2 million subscribers – […]

Findings from Leichtman Research Group indicate that the largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the US – representing about 95 per cent of the market – acquired about 3,500,000 net additional broadband subscribers in 2022, compared to a pro forma gain of about 3,725,000 subscribers in 2021. These top broadband […]

Investment bank Exane/BNPP, in a major examination of US cable (The Twilight of Cable) says that while the first half of 2023 might see some gentle recovery from the 52-week ‘lows’ in December, there will be more pain to come. “We think near term sub growth (from promotional activity) and broadband price increases can flatter […]

Xumo, the streaming platform joint venture between US multiplay operators Comcast and Charter, and Element Electronics are to launch a new line of 4K Ultra HD smart TVs, across the US in 2023. Xumo was formed to develop and offer a next-generation streaming platform on a variety of branded 4K streaming devices and smart TVs. […]

US multiplay operators Charter Communications and Comcast Corporation have revealed that their streaming platform joint venture will now operate and conduct business as Xumo, evolving the brand from a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service to an entire entertainment ecosystem inclusive of streaming devices, content, and a platform for partners to reach audiences at scale. […]

EarthxTV, the Dallas-based TV entertainment network dedicated to environmental sustainability, is now available in millions of households in the UK, the US and Europe through distribution deals with Charter Communications and the NCTC in the US, Sky and Freeview in the UK, and M7 in Europe. The deals mark the launch of the ad-supported network […]