Disney & Cable Provider Altice In Contract Dispute

Disney fans who subscribe to Altice, which is the fourth-largest cable distributor in the United States, are now in a contract dispute according to the New York Times.   Altice has accused Disney of wanting an “outrageous” price for its content including ABC, ESPN, Freedom and the Disney channels.  They also stated that Disney should “Stop the threats, Focus on negotiating an agreement that is fair.”

Disney then replied to the claims saying that there pricing is reasonable and claim Altice is “greedy” for expecting something lower.  Disney added “We have a responsibility to make our viewers aware of the potential loss of our programming.  We remain fully committed to reaching a deal and are hopeful we can do so.”

If the contract dispute isn’t sorted by October 1st, viewers could lose the channels and while Disney have had issues like this before, if Disney don’t hold their ground, other larger cable distributors will also want to pay less.

This also shows why Disney want to start their own streaming service due to cord-cutting and having full control over their content.  However they still are reliant on an income from cable networks.

Altice also said “We are always working hard to negotiate carriage agreements that reflect the best interest of all our customers.  We want to carry ESPN and its sister networks, including ABC and Disney Channel, at a reasonable rate and have already offered an increase.”

What do you think of this contract dispute?