Customers of Charter Communications’ most popular pay TV bundle, “Spectrum TV Select,” now have access to Disney Plus Basic, the $7.99-a-month, partly ad-supported iteration of Disney's flagship subscription streaming product, at no additional cost.
It's the first consumer-product manifestation from a landmark carriage deal carved out between Charter and The Walt Disney Co, back in September. With much of Disney's best programming migrating to subscription streaming, Charter was able to carve out an arrangement that let it bundle services, including Disney Plus, at attractive price points for its customers.
Charter also said it will start bundling Disney's ESPN Plus for Spectrum TV subs, also sans additional price, starting in the next few months.
Bundling streaming services instead of traditional linear cable channels fits Charter's long-term video strategy.
Charter has entered into a joint venture with Comcast, branded as Xumo, to develop an OTT video platform. The recently introduced Xumo Stream Box CTV device, which supports Disney Plus among numerous other top SVOD services, is now Charter's "go-to" home set-top device.
Also Read: Xumo TV: Everything You Need to Know About the Comcast and Charter Streaming OS Joint Venture
“With the launch of the Disney Plus 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,” said Tom Montemagno, executive VP of programming acquisition for Charter, in a statement. “As the video industry continues to evolve, we are committed to including direct-to-consumer apps like Disney Plus with Spectrum services while providing a simplified TV viewing experience through platforms such as the Xumo Stream Box."
Added Justin Connolly, president of platform distribution for Disney: “The inclusion of Disney Plus alongside a curated lineup of our TV channels brings the best of both worlds from Disney’s unrivaled entertainment portfolio to Charter’s video customers. Our goal has always been to meet consumers where they are, and these collective offerings will maximize value for Spectrum TV Select customers while simultaneously broadening the audience of our advertiser-supported streaming services.”
