Free Disney+ Basic Access Now Available to Spectrum TV Customers as Part of Landmark Carriage Deal
Disney first agreed to allow Spectrum TV customers access to Disney+ at no additional cost in September.
It was a risky gambit by Charter Communications to look Disney in the eye and tell them it would not air their channels at the demanded price unless it got free access to Disney+ for its customers included in the deal. But Disney ultimately blinked in the stare down that ensured, and on Thursday Charter announced that its Spectrum TV Select customers could officially begin signing up for their new Disney+ accounts.
- Spectrum TV Select users can now sign up for Disney+ Basic as part of their cable plan.
- Disney and Charter agreed to a new carriage deal in September that granted Spectrum TV Select subscribers Disney+ access in exchange for higher fees to carry Disney-owned channels.
- The deal could lead to a wider integration of streaming plans with cable providers.
Why Do Spectrum Customers Get Disney+ Free?
For the answer to this question, readers will have to hearken back to September, when Disney demanded Charter pay more to carry channels like ESPN, Disney Channel, and others in its cable plans. Charter was to meet some of Disney’s demands, but it had an important stipulation of its own: Spectrum TV Select customers needed access to Disney’s flagship streaming service.
Spectrum’s logic behind its demand was that by releasing more and more top-quality titles from big-name franchises onto Disney+ as opposed to airing them on cable, Disney was reducing the value of the channels all while demanding that Spectrum pay more for them. Disney was eventually obliged to admit the force of this argument, though the pressure caused by the onset of the NFL season was no doubt a factor in its decision to allow Spectrum TV Select users free access to ad-supported Disney+ Basic.
Now, Spectrum TV Select customers can follow this link to set up their Disney+ account and start watching titles from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and all of their favorite animated Disney classics alongside a huge library of other content.
“With the launch of the Disney+ Basic offer, TV Select customers can now enjoy access to Disney’s popular streaming content as well as their high-quality linear TV channels, all included as part of one video package,” Charter EVP Tom Montemagno said. “As the video industry continues to evolve, we are committed to including direct-to-consumer apps like Disney+ with Spectrum services while providing a simplified TV viewing experience through platforms such as the Xumo Stream Box. We are pleased to partner with Disney to further this goal to the benefit of our mutual customers.”
Will Other Streamers Follow Disney’s Example?
There is every reason to believe that the carriage deal between Disney and Charter is just the first in a new trend.
For one thing, streaming providers themselves have indicated they see the Disney - Spectrum deal as a blueprint for future negotiations with cable companies. Most owners of big-name streaming platforms like Max, Paramount+ and Peacock also have linear TV channels in their asset inventory, and Paramount’s CEO Bob Bakish indicated in November that Paramount+ could see more integration with cable plans in the future.
For another, the structure of the deal truly does allow both parties to benefit. Spectrum gets to show its users that it sees them as more than just a way to make money and that it cares whether or not they’re getting good value from their service. Disney doesn’t get to collect monthly subscriber fees from the new Spectrum TV Select additions, but it does get a prorated lump sum from Charter for them, and it keeps the ad revenues brought in from having those new users on its ad-supported plan.
Audiences have grown used to thinking of cable and streaming as bitter rivals, but market conditions are likely to force them closer together in the coming years. Charter and Disney may have set the pattern for other cable and streaming providers going forward, and starting this week Spectrum TV Select users will be able to watch Disney+ at no extra monthly cost.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”