Warner Bros. Discovery and Charter Communications have come to an early agreement concerning their carriage negotiations. Under this new multi-year deal, all Warner Bros. Discovery channels will be available to Charter customers and both Max and Discovery+ will be made available across all Spectrum TV Select packages at no extra charge to customers.
Under this carriage agreement, Spectrum customers will continue to have access to WBD’s linear networks, including TNT, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, TBS, Adult Swim and Investigation Discovery. The deal also establishes Max as a “preferred partner” for Spectrum when it comes to marketing and selling DTC apps and bundles to broadband subscribers.
A full deployment of Spectrum’s DTC distribution to its broadband customers is expected to take place in 2025. This plan will include separate pricing, packaging and billing capabilities for DTC video services to broadband customers.
The agreement comes nearly a year earlier than was expected. In a press release, the companies referred to the addition of Max and Discovery+ as a “game-changer” for Spectrum’s proposed bundle. The company estimates that the bundle offers close to $60 per month in retail value when added to Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount+, AMC+, BET+ and Vix.
“This innovative partnership with Charter recognizes the value of our linear content and the investments we’ve made in premium original programming, sports and news, while also significantly expanding the distribution of Max’s ad-supported service to Spectrum’s millions of Select customers,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement to press. “We did this agreement together nearly a year early to set a framework for the future and to provide more consumers access to our unparalleled content offering while giving the industry more resilience as it evolves. We are pleased this achieves each of our company’s objectives.”
“This strategic relationship with WBD further evolves the linear and broadband video distribution model and supports Spectrum’s efforts to provide flexible packages, whether through hybrid linear-DTC full video relationships, smaller video packages with DTC add-ons, or a suite of a-la-carte or bundled DTC options for broadband customers,” said Chris Winfrey, president and CEO of Charter Communications, which operates the Spectrum brand.
Winfrey highlighted that the inclusion of both ad-supported versions of Max and Discovery+ in Spectrum’s most popular packages “ensures we provide the most value to our customers.” He also emphasized that these streamers would be working with Spectrum’s Xumo, which seamlessly integrates live linear, DVR and VOD, DTC and SVOD content in unified search and discovery. “WBD’s creativity and commitment to a healthier video ecosystem further enables us to deliver on our core principles to create value and choice for customers,” Winfrey concluded.
This move comes as Disney and DirecTV are in the midst of their carriage dispute. Currently, Disney-owned networks are unavailable to watch on DirecTV channels as negotiations continue, a measure that was briefly lifted so that DirecTV customers could watch the debate this week. Last year, Disney also engaged in a lengthy negotiation process with Charter that resulted in a blackout and hinged around customers having access to Disney’s DTC content.
