Disney Blames Charter for Labor Day Blackout

pcmag.com:

Spectrum cable customers who wanted to watch the US Open this weekend may have found themselves out of luck thanks to a Disney blackout on the service.

On Thursday evening, Disney blocked its channels from being viewed by Spectrum’s 15 million subscribers over a contract dispute between the two companies. On Friday, Spectrum said “We offered Disney a fair deal, and yet they continue to demand an excessive increase,” in a blog post referring to the cost of broadcasting the stations going forward, and today Disney shot back with a blog post of its own somewhat explaining the dispute from its perspective.

According to Disney, in an average month, 71% of Charter subscribers tune into a Disney-owned station. Over a year, Disney says that ads up to more than 3.3 billion hours of Disney content are being watched by Charter subscribers.

The dispute stems from Disney wanting its channels included in some Spectrum packages where they aren’t currently, Charter argues that doing so would force customers into paying for channels they might not want. Disney on the other hand claims that Charter is asking for access to its streaming services for free.

If you’re upset about the blackout, Disney says to blame Charter.

“Even though Charter also claims to value Disney’s direct-to-consumer services, the cable company is demanding these different services for free—as they have stated publicly—which does not make economic sense,” Disney says. “Moreover, it does not make sense for consumers who desire the flexibility to have our streaming platforms as standalone services."

Disney also suggested that customers “have many options today and can choose from competing pay TV providers that offer Disney’s entire portfolio of networks and