Disney is urging Spectrum customers to consider switching to a live television option from Hulu. Disney was hoping that they would be able to reach an agreement to restore access to ABC, ESPN, and other Disney-owned channels that have been blacked out on Charter's service since Thursday. Without a deal in place, Disney suggests that customers switch from Spectrum to Hulu + Live TV, which offers ESPN, ABC, Disney+, and dozens of other cable channels.
UPDATE 9/6/2023 7:20PM ET:
- Deadline is reporting that Disney has seen a 60% jump in Hulu + Live TV subscriptions relative to internal expectations since a carriage impasse with Charter / Spectrum began.
- Last Thursday, 18 of Disney’s cable networks and eight ABC stations went dark on Charter’s Spectrum service in one of the most contentious and consequential TV carriage disputes in memory.
What’s Happening:
- This Labor Day weekend has been a frustrating one for millions of Spectrum cable subscribers.
- Instead of enjoying major sporting events such as the return of college football and the US Open, ESPN and other Disney-owned channels like ABC were blacked out due to a dispute between Spectrum’s parent company—Charter Communications—and Disney Entertainment. Unfortunately, the dispute is still ongoing.
- Disney deeply values its relationship with its viewers and is hopeful Charter is ready to have more conversations that will restore access to its content to Spectrum customers as quickly as possible.
- However, if you are one of these frustrated customers, it can be infuriating to not be able to access the content you want.
- Luckily, consumers have more choices today than ever before to immediately access the programming they want without a cable subscription.
Hulu + Live TV:
- The service has more than 90 live channels that include sports, news, and entertainment. Hulu + Live TV starts at $69.99 a month, and you can cancel anytime. There’s no contract, no cable box, and no wait time to subscribe.
- Hulu + Live TV also comes with Hulu’s deep library of exclusive TV shows and hit films, ad-supported Disney+ and ESPN+ all in one plan, and unlimited DVR, which allows you to record and store your favorite content for up to nine months.
- Disney’s networks and stations are also available on other TV streaming services such as DIRECTV Stream, YouTube TV, Sling, and Fubo.
- All these services give what so many Spectrum customers wanted this weekend: access to Disney’s portfolio of networks.
- That includes live sports and news coverage plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from the ABC Owned Television Stations, the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels.
- Also, it should be noted that the ABC Owned Television Stations will always be available over the air at no cost to the consumer.
- Despite the ongoing dispute, consumers have many other choices—such as Hulu + Live TV—that allow them to enjoy the great programming for which Disney Entertainment is known.
- For more details, go to https://keepmynetworks.com/.