Comcast signs licensing deal with Disney

[crazy4wdw]

Disney Comcast Pact Is a Mickey Mouse Deal for Subscribers
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool Posted 2:15PM 01/05/12 Company News, Media, Comcast, Walt Disney

Comcast (CMCSA) just signed a pricey new content-licensing deal with Disney (DIS).

The family entertainment giant and the country's largest cable provider are teaming up for a juicy long-term programming deal. It will give Comcast subscribers access to a ton of Disney-owned content delivered across more than just their TVs.

Sweet! Unfortunately, there will also be a price to pay.

"License fee schedules for different services under the deal will be phased in over time," reads the press release detailing the 10-year deal. In other words, the terms of the deal will get more expensive during the life of the deal.

Oh, and guess who Comcast will be passing on those higher costs to?

It's Comcastic!

The deal itself is massive, covering 70 different services. We're talking about an extended slate of ESPN channels as well as ABC, ABC Family, and several Disney Channel networks. Comcast will even be the springboard for Disney Junior, a new basic channel for preschool kids that will launch later this year.

It's a lot of channels that you will probably never watch, and that's before we get to Xfinity TV.

Comcast subscribers will be able to see live and on-demand content from many Disney-owned channels on their PCs, tablets, smartphones, and whatever new Web-tethered gadgetry rolls out in the coming years.

You're going to love the broader content and wide range of ways to access Disney's content. You're going to hate how much it costs.

Being a Couch Potato Isn't Cheap

There is no breakdown on how much more this will cost subscribers, but it's inevitable that Comcast subscribers will see their bills continue to inch higher. Comcast doesn't allow customers to cherry-pick the stations they want -- they have to pay for every station that is part of a bundled package of content.

We already know that content isn't cheap. Media tracker SNL Kagan reported late last year that ESPN alone sets distributors back a juicy $4.69 a month per home.

Comcast knows that the price of its service is aggravating consumers. It has been losing video customers over the past few quarters. There's a "cord cutters" revolution going on as folks ditch their cable and satellite television plans in favor of HD antennas and cheaper streaming video services.

Comcast is trying. It has been at the forefront of the TV Everywhere initiative that strives to provide subscribers with all of the content that they're paying for through more than just their televisions. This new Disney deal will help make TV Everywhere a better product, but knowing that subscribers are the ones ultimately paying the price for this far-reaching deal -- when they won't have the ability to cancel out individual channels that they don't particularly care for -- makes it look flat-out Goofy.

 

[DizCaptain]

It sounds like the same exact thing Verizon Fios already has. Its just because its Comcast its a big deal, with Disney Junior being the only true benefit (if you have young kids).

 

[nytimez]

It's kind of a weirdly written analysis -- it's very critical of the cost of this deal to both Comcast and consumers without actually knowing what that cost is (although I have no doubt it'll be plenty).

 

[fannatic]

Disney may have used the negotiations to gain leverage into other talks - like the Marvel contract. It's just a speculation, but I have heard that an offer was made a while back. I haven't heard anything more about it, but it could be a you scratch my back - I'll scratch your back deal - like with Oswald.

 

[XGrumpy1]

Comcast going even higher????

Time to look at Dish for me.

 

[nytimez]

Disney may have used the negotiations to gain leverage into other talks - like the Marvel contract. It's just a speculation, but I have heard that an offer was made a while back. I haven't heard anything more about it, but it could be a you scratch my back - I'll scratch your back deal - like with Oswald.

I bet the only thing Disney and Comcast would like to do to each other's back is drive a knife into it.

 

[tjkraz]

It sounds like the same exact thing Verizon Fios already has. Its just because its Comcast its a big deal, with Disney Junior being the only true benefit (if you have young kids).

I don't think it's a "big" deal in the sense that it will make the nightly news but to financial sites like Motley Fool it's newsworthy.

And it should be somewhat comforting to Comcast subscribers in a day when cable / satellite companies and content providers are often at odds. Time Warner customers in NY have been without the MSG networks (Knicks & Rangers games, most notably) for over a week now.

I don't think Disney Junior is the real news. Disney Junior is taking over the slot formerly occupied by SoapNet, and most cable providers already had that channel. I'd say the biggest pro for Comcast customers is the app streaming services. Last year ESPN unveiled a "Watch ESPN" app which enabled live streaming to mobile devices (Apple, Android, tablets, etc.) Only problem is to use the app you have to subscribe to a cable provider which has the appropriate deal in place with Disney/ESPN. Comcast adding this service is mentioned about half way down in the writeup. And from the sound of things, its only a matter of time before they roll-out similar apps for The Disney Channel and others.

I don't know how many people use those apps but never underestimate the...exuberance of a sports fan. It's not a bad value-added perk to offer when customers have multiple choices available.

 

[arthuruscg]

great another price hike coming to comcrap.