Disney and Optimum close a multi-year carriage renewal
Disney reached a carriage renewal agreement with Optimum, the cable operator formerly known as Altice USA, the two companies said on Thursday. The multi-year deal covers Disney's entertainment and sports networks and extends a relationship that had previously produced a contentious 2017 carriage dispute between the two sides. Coverage of the agreement appeared in outlets including Sports Business Journal, Awful Announcing and The Wrap.
ESPN Unlimited is bundled into existing cable packages
Under the renewal, any Optimum household that receives ESPN as part of its cable package will also receive ESPN Unlimited access for no additional charge. Optimum subscribers will be able to download the ESPN app on mobile devices and connected TVs and use it to watch ESPN's live games and programming, with the two companies describing themselves as "currently working together on integration plans." An official announcement "may come as soon as today," Sports Business Journal reported, citing CNBC Sport.
NFL Network and the wider Disney portfolio are part of the deal
Awful Announcing reported that the agreement extends beyond ESPN to include the full portfolio of Disney-owned entertainment and sports networks, including the newly acquired NFL Network. Disney has been working through a series of distribution renewals since last fall's prolonged carriage fight with YouTube TV, following an August agreement with Comcast over NFL Network and a prior renewal with Charter.
Optimum's subscriber base frames the scale of the renewal
Optimum is not Disney's largest distribution partner. Awful Announcing noted that the operator reported 3.75 million broadband customers and 1.57 million pay TV subscribers on its first-quarter earnings call earlier this year, giving a sense of the household footprint newly eligible for ESPN Unlimited under the renewal. Whether ESPN Unlimited proves profitable across both direct-to-consumer subscribers and those accessing it through traditional pay TV providers remains an open question flagged by the same report.
Other developments
Separately, The Wrap reported that Disney appointed Jennifer Creegan, a longtime Microsoft executive, as its new Head of Marketing Technology and Operations.
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