(Reuters) -Disney and Charter Communications traded salvos over their unresolved distribution agreement after channels like ESPN went dark on Thursday for customers of Charter’s Spectrum cable service.
Disney pulled ESPN, ABC and other cable channels off Spectrum, which serves giant markets like New York and Los Angeles, in the middle of U.S. Open tennis coverage.
Charter flashed a message on screen that urged viewers to contact Disney.
“We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase,” it read. “The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable TV prices and we are fighting to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney.”
Cable companies have struggled as many customers have canceled subscriptions in favor of streaming services. Charter, in a Friday presentation, said programmers’ multichannel video packages are too expensive and are not meeting customer needs.
Disney had on Thursday said, “the rates and terms we are seeking in this renewal are driven by the marketplace.”
Charter serves more than 32 million customers in 41 states through its Spectrum brand, according to its website. It said on Friday that Disney has “not seriously engaged” on its partnership proposal.
The company said it was already paying about $2.2 billion in annual programming costs to the entertainment giant, while just 25% of its viewers “regularly engage with Disney content.”
Without a resolution, Charter customers will not have access to other live sporting events including college football, which just kicked off its season.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Arun Koyyur)
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