Spectrum & Disney

[happybaker]

Are they expected to be off the whole month? I'm hoping just several days, until they renegotiate again.

The rep was pretty tight-lipped about a resolution. From what I've read, it sounds like Spectrum is trying to make a stand.

I can't imagine it's going to be a good weekend for them with folks not being able to watch college football and the US Open.

Fubo is offering a free trial. And a discount to Spectrum customers who switch. We're considering it.

 

[sam_gordon]

The rep was pretty tight-lipped about a resolution.

A front line phone rep is going to have NO idea of how negotiations are going.

Both sides want a deal. It's a business negotiation.

 

[robinb]

Spectrum is the only wired tv provider in our neighborhood and the only internet option as well. We had satellite tv for a while, until it got too expensive. I use a mobile hotspot for my internet. I would not have Spectrum if they paid me for the privilege.

I actually still have them for Internet. There are no other decent options where I live. I have Sling now for TV and I’m saving over $75 per month.

 

[WEDWDW]

https://cordcuttersnews.com/spectru...stomers-if-not-it-will-walk-away-from-disney/

Spectrum needs Disney more than Disney needs Spectrum.

I would definitely think so.

Spectrum threatening to remove Disney permanently HAS to be a bluff.

I would guess Spectrum would lose at least half of their subscribers-Sports fans are NOT going to stay somewhere that doesn't offer ESPN/ESPN 2/ESPNU/ESPNNEWS/SEC Network/ACC Network-not going to happen.

And the longer this goes on the more Spectrum subscribers are going to go to streaming and they won't be coming back.

And to do this on the opening weekend of College Football will only increase tremendously the number of Spectrum subscribers bailing permanently.

 

[focusondisney]

It’s not only Spectrum that does this. My sisters have Direct TV. They haven’t had CBS since early summer. They haven’t missed it but now with football season starting, they are getting really annoyed. Another sister has Verizon, they have a dispute with some major network & threaten to pull it every year.

We have Spectrum. It’s a terrible service. Way too expensive, crappy equipment that needs to be replaced frequently & goes out for hours a few times a year. Just told DH it might be time to look into streaming. The only reason we haven’t done it yet is pure laziness on checking out other options.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Right now U-Verse has not been able to negotiate with Fox so we've not had that channel for most of the summer. I'm pretty annoyed because now they are alerting us that NFL and basketball season is starting back up and fall shows will be starting soon. For the tv shows we at least have HULU but they aren't commercial free. I guess right now I have to hope they get that resolved in time for the shows to come back (which I think many of them have been pushed to next year due to the strike).

I hate these sort of issues.

Locally with the Spectrum issue the news has just said Mizzou fans are presently being affected.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My sisters have Direct TV. They haven’t had CBS since early summer.

For us (we have U-Verse) it's Fox that is blacked out with the disputer but yeah DirectTV and U-Verse customers are connected together.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Are they expected to be off the whole month? I'm hoping just several days, until they renegotiate again.

It's been quite a while but we didn't have Hallmark for several years due to a dispute between them and U-Verse (I think we got them back in 2015 or so). You always hope it doesn't last long but we're going on several months without Fox due to a dispute so stuff can happen that last for a while.

 

[Imzadi]

I actually still have them for Internet. There are no other decent options where I live.

We have Spectrum. It’s a terrible service. Way too expensive, crappy equipment that needs to be replaced frequently & goes out for hours a few times a year.

I have Spectrum for Internet & Cable. The worst mistake I ever made was bundling the services. And I knew it at the time. But I originally had Verizon for Internet and it was painfully slow.

Several years back, our area had a class action lawsuit against Spectrum as it was found out they were throttling back on Internet the more one used it. It wasn't just our imagination. It was found out they really did it. Yet, all we won in the lawsuit was 3 months of free HBO. That's like a slap on the wrist for Spectrum. I don't doubt that they are doing some other stunt with that small of a penalty.

Like, I don't think it would be a coincidence that if I cancelled my Spectrum cable and went to Internet only and a streaming service that I'd suddenly have a whole bunch of Internet & streaming problems, like freezing and outages that I don't have now. So that I'd want to have Spectrum cable back.

Right now, when there is an outage, it's either the Internet or the cable, but usually not both at the same time. So, I can still work on my computer, stream something, or watch TV. But, if I go to Internet only, and they screw with that, I wouldn't be able to do anything.

 

[sam_gordon]

Apparently the fight isn't just over retransmission rates... https://cordcuttersnews.com/spectru...stomers-if-not-it-will-walk-away-from-disney/

 

[Good Ol Gal]

We switched to Spectrum about six months ago and I hate it. This is our final straw.

I called this morning to cancel and they gave me a $15 credit - told I still wanted to disconnect, put on hold and then got disconnected after sitting on hold for 45 minutes.

On hold again 15 minutes and counting....

 

[WEDWDW]

It's been quite a while but we didn't have Hallmark for several years due to a dispute between them and U-Verse (I think we got them back in 2015 or so). You always hope it doesn't last long but we're going on several months without Fox due to a dispute so stuff can happen that last for a while.

That would be the entire College Football season if that happens here.

Sports fans aren't going to "wait it out".

I see a max exodus if this lasts into next weekend.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

We switched to Spectrum about six months ago and I hate it. This is our final straw.

I called this morning to cancel and they gave me a $15 credit - told I still wanted to disconnect, put on hold and then got disconnected after sitting on hold for 45 minutes.

On hold again 15 minutes and counting....

Another 1:50 minutes later and cable is gone.

 

[MillauFr]

Until they need to renegotiate with Disney.

Why wouldn't Disney just stream the channel directly?

 

[MillauFr]

Another 1:50 minutes later and cable is gone.

Good for you. Cable TV is an even bigger ripoff than Genie+.

 

[sam_gordon]

Why wouldn't Disney just stream the channel directly?

Three reasons immediately come to mind...

Existing Contracts
It might be in existing contracts with MVPDs that Disney won't stream the linear channels (because that's competition for MVPDs).

(Lack of) Subscribers
According to this chart (Source):

Disney+ has lost 10% of it's subscriber base in the last 9 months. By having their channels on MVPDs, that's more money they're bringing in.

Reach
Between cable/satellite, pretty close to 100% of customers can receive the channels. Broadband just isn't there. Streaming isn't an option for everyone. Why wouldn't you want to reach every possible customer you can?

 

[MillauFr]

Three reasons immediately come to mind...

Existing Contracts
It might be in existing contracts with MVPDs that Disney won't stream the linear channels (because that's competition for MVPDs).

(Lack of) Subscribers
According to this chart (Source):
View attachment 790424
Disney+ has lost 10% of it's subscriber base in the last 9 months. By having their channels on MVPDs, that's more money they're bringing in.

Reach
Between cable/satellite, pretty close to 100% of customers can receive the channels. Broadband just isn't there. Streaming isn't an option for everyone. Why wouldn't you want to reach every possible customer you can?

Well it is pretty obvious that Cable TV is equivalent to Video Rental Stores. They were relevant until they were not. Cable TV won't be dead tomorrow but the die is cast and there is no changing that it will be dead in a few years. Why not be ahead of the curve rather than behind?

 

[greeneyedchick]

In an odd coincidence, YouTube TV told me that my local CW station would be disappearing today. Some kind of shift-of-affiliation thing or something, not sure, not interested enough to look it up. I will need to do something if this is still going on when Superman & Lois comes back next year (sorry to mention DC characters on a Disney forum, but hey, my tastes are eclectic). In a way I miss the old days when TV stations did not vanish for days or weeks at a time without warning.

My parents' cable company (Summit) had a tiff with ABC about 2 years ago and it's never been resolved. They have to watch ABC shows through hulu even though they pay for cable. It sounds like this may become more common.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Why wouldn't Disney just stream the channel directly?

A lot of people keep their cable tv service because they don't have other options for internet. When we got rid of cable, our cable company charged us almost the same amount for internet as we were paying for the bundle with TV. We didn't have any other options like FIOS. If Disney cuts out cable customers, they aren't necessarily going to gain them through direct streaming. When we were paying for the cable bundle, we didn't want to have to pay for individual channels, too.

 

[mom2rtk]

My parents' cable company (Summit) had a tiff with ABC about 2 years ago and it's never been resolved. They have to watch ABC shows through hulu even though they pay for cable. It sounds like this may become more common.

That would definitely be a fast way to kill off what's left of cable. I have news for Disney. I'm not subscribing to Hulu if they yank ABC from my cable.