By David Bauder, Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Hours before the fall's first "Monday Night Football" game, Disney and Charter Communications have settled a business dispute that had left some 15 million cable TV customers without ESPN and other Disney channels.
Disney said that because of the deal, the majority of its ESPN customers would have service restored to Charter's Spectrum cable system immediately. Charter confirmed the deal Monday.
The agreement was announced hours before the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills were to debut their season on ESPN and ESPN2. It's the first game for the Jets with Aaron Rodgers as quarterback, and many Spectrum customers are in the New York area.
Charter had sought access to Disney's streaming services for its customers and, as part of the deal, both sides said that the Disney+ ad-supported service and ESPN+ would be offered to select Spectrum customers. They also said that ESPN's direct-to-consumer service, which is still in the works, will be part of the Spectrum service.
Under the deal, Spectrum will offer its customers a lineup of 19 Disney-owned stations. Charter had sought greater flexibility to let its cable customers pick and choose which networks it wanted as part of their service.
Financial terms were not revealed.
"Our collective goal has always been to build an innovative model for the future," Disney CEO Robert Iger and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said in a prepared, joint statement.
"This deal recognizes both the continued value of linear television and the growing popularity of streaming services while addressing the evolving needs of our customers," they said.
Many television viewers were less interested in the business particulars than they fact that they couldn't watch ESPN during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and opening weekend of the college football season.
But the matchup Monday between the Buffalo Bills, one of the most powerful teams in the NFL, and the New York Jets led by new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, was another huge deadline.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More