Disney, Charter end dispute, returns for Week 3 of college football

Disney and Charter have ended their carriage dispute, reaching an agreement according to the Wall Street Journal. The dispute ending brings ESPN and ABC back to more than 14 million cable TV customers in the country’s biggest TV markets such as New York and Los Angeles.

The blackout lasted more than a week.

More importantly for Disney and ESPN, the deal comes before Monday Night Football debuts for the 2023 NFL season. It’s no secret NFL is king in TV. But Monday night’s broadcast is a perfect storm for ESPN. The Buffalo Bills visit the New York Jets in Aaron Rodgers’ debut. Next to a few other matchups, it’s the preeminent game of the NFL’s opening weekend. Having over 14 million customers locked out from watching the game would have been a major blow for Disney. It clearly brought Disney and Charter to the table.

The crux of the dispute centered around the two sides not agreeing on the terms of a new carrier agreement. The nation’s second-largest cable company wants to have consumer products like Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ in its package. The one catch was Spectrum did not want to pay more money for the extra programming.

Charter has agreed to higher rates for Disney’s channels in return for being able to provide Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming to its pay-TV customers. Of note, when Disney releases its direct-to-consumer version of its ESPN cable channel, separate from ESPN+, Charter customers will receive the product.

It’s also a major win for college football fans, who were left scrambling to join Hulu Live or YouTube TV in the first two weeks of the season. Arguably two of the biggest games of Week 2 – No. 20 Ole Miss at No. 24 Tulane (ESPN 2) and No. 11 Texas at No. 3 Alabama – were on Disney channels.

Both Disney and Charter stocks traded higher Monday morning. A main component of the dispute is called the “Most Favored” clause. This means if Disney agrees to a worse deal than it receives from any other cable provider, the new arrangement would take precedence with Charter.

Why this is important for college football?

The dispute coming to an end is a major win for college sports. The last round of conference realignment showed just how much power TV rights holders now have in college football specifically. While the SEC and Big Ten are in the early years of new deals, what the market looks like when their contracts are up will make a major impact on college athletics.

“Ultimately, the health of the industry is going to determine whether or not you get significant increases, if any, into the future,” a TV source told On3. “It’s a concern for everybody in college sports.”

It’s also good news for college football fans. Tensions ran high throughout the dispute, with both conglomerates pushing customers to separate streaming services. For now, at least, fans can watch games on cable.

This entire saga also marks a major win for YouTube TV. At $72.99 a month, it is a tad pricey but the streaming service now holds the Sunday Ticket TV package. It is currently running a $64.99-a-month promotion for the user’s first three months.

This is a developing story and will be updated.