Spectrum TV Select Plus Customers Can Now Get ESPN+ for Free
As part of the carriage deal agreed to between Disney and Spectrum last fall Spectrum TV Select Plus subscribers now get a free ESPN+ account!
Spectrum TV Select Plus viewers are almost guaranteed to be big sports fans. This plan gives subscribers access to NFL Network, NBA TV, regional sports networks, and more, but starting this week it will also offer customers free access to ESPN+! Spectrum’s parent company Charter agreed to a unique carriage deal with Disney last fall that gives Spectrum TV Select Plus viewers the chance to sign up for an ESPN+ account at no extra cost.
- Spectrum TV Select Plus customers can sign up for their free ESPN+ accounts now.
- Free Disney+ Basic accounts also recently became available for Spectrum TV Select viewers.
- The new, standalone ESPN streaming service will be available free for Spectrum TV Select customers when it launches in 2025.
The carriage deal agreed to last fall between Charter and Disney was a landmark agreement because it allowed Spectrum cable plan holders to access some of Disney’s streaming services for free. Charter felt its Spectrum TV customers were being asked to pay twice for content available on linear channels like ESPN and Disney Channel that is also available on services like Disney+ and ESPN+ and wanted to give its viewers some way of saving money on that content before agreeing to pay Disney higher carriage fees for its linear networks.
One of the provisions of the deal was that Spectrum TV Select Plus viewers, who pay $10 more per month to get access to a wide selection of live sports channels, would get free access to ESPN+ and its thousands of annual live sports events. All you’ll need to do to sign up for your free ESPN+ account if you’re a Spectrum TV Select Plus customer is follow this link.
The deal also allowed customers who subscribed to a Spectrum TV Select plan to get free access to ad-supported Disney+ Basic. Spectrum TV subscribers first gained access to these free Disney+ accounts in early January, and that’s not the end of the freebies coming to Spectrum audiences from Disney. When the House of Mouse launches a streaming app that carries more of the sports available on ESPN’s linear channels in 2025, that service too will be free for Spectrum TV Select users.
Will Disney Agree to Similar Carriage Deals with Other Cable Providers?
When Spectrum executives first brought the suggestion of providing free access to Disney streamers to representatives of the entertainment giant, Disney balked hard. It eventually caved in to keep Spectrum’s approximately 15 million subscribers from missing the first game of the “Monday Night Football” season in 2023, and since then has completely changed its thinking on the deal.
Earlier this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger called the deal a “win-win” and said that from Disney’s perspective, there were “no cons” to the arrangement. Disney has to accept a wholesale rate for the customers it gains from the Spectrum deal, but these customers are much less likely to cancel their accounts since they’re getting access to the services in question for free.
That leaves the door open for similar deals between Disney and other cable channel distributors in the future, especially since Iger said he saw such pacts as a way to create a “smooth transition” from linear platforms to digital ones for sports and entertainment going forward. These deals are obviously beneficial for cable companies as well, as they help subscribers feel like they’re getting better value from their TV plan.
If you’re a Spectrum TV Select Plus customer, click here to start the process of grabbing your free ESPN+ account now. Sports fans can enjoy tens of thousands of live sports on ESPN+ every year, including the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, daily out-of-market MLB games, every single out-of-market NHL contest in the regular season, and much more.
“Through our collaboration with Disney we are providing a better experience for our customers,” said Tom Montemagno, EVP at Charter. “Making ESPN+ available to our TV Select Plus customers allows us to cater to sports fans’ evolving viewing habits with one high-value video package that includes the best of linear and direct-to-consumer sports content.”
ESPN+
ESPN+ is a live TV streaming service that gives access to thousands of live sporting events including NFL, MLB, NHL, UFC, College Football, F1, Bundesliga, PGA Tour, La Liga, and more. Users can see sports documentaries and select archived events. Subscribers can access exclusive articles from top ESPN insiders.