Charter’s Spectrum slammed Disney on Thursday after the media giant pulled all its networks — including ESPN, FX, Disney Channel and ABC stations — which meant that subscribers were unexpectedly blocked from seeing the college football game between Florida and Utah.
In a statement shared on their site, Spectrum blamed Disney: “We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase… The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable TV prices, and we are fighting hard to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney.”
The same statement also appeared to Spectrum subscribers who tried to access the Disney-owned channels on Thursday.
Disney issued its own statement to press, saying that “the rates and terms we are seeking in this renewal are driven by the marketplace.”
“We’ve been in ongoing negotiations with Charter Communications for some time and have not yet agreed to a new market-based agreement,” Disney’s statement read.
“Disney Entertainment has successful deals in place with pay TV providers of all types and sizes across the country, and the rates and terms we are seeking in this renewal are driven by the marketplace. We’re committed to reaching a mutually agreed upon resolution with Charter and we urge them to work with us to minimize the disruption to their customers,” the statement concluded.
Spectrum’s parent company Comcast later announced it will host a webcast on Friday at 5:30 a.m. Pacific to discuss the matter on the company’s investor relations website. The presentation will be archived there at 7:30 a.m. Pacific.
Per the media giant, the Disney-owned channels that have also been pulled from Spectrum are Freeform, FX networks and National Geographic channels.
Sports fans were furious over losing access to ESPN, with most initially blasting Spectrum for seemingly pulling the plug.
“Is everyone blacked out on ESPN a Spectrum customer? Power play by the cable company,” DarkStoneInsiders posted on X.
They took Spectrum’s side, however, in subsequent tweets in which they wrote, “This was a good move by Spectrum. Everyone already hates [Disney]. Brings negative attention to the Mouse and I’m here for it. I wanted to see the game, but f—k Disney. Love your pettiness, Spectrum.”
