Disney and Altice reached an agreement last night that will see the N.Y.-based cable operator carry SEC Network and ACC Network, sources said. The two sides emailed a statement to reporters yesterday simply saying, “We have reached an agreement in principle and have extended the deadline accordingly to try and finalize the terms.” Disney negotiated a price increase for its channels, but the size of that increase is not clear. The agreement encompasses all of Disney and ESPN’s cable channels as part of a multiyear deal that has been viewed as a bellwether for the pay-TV industry.
Negotiations between Altice and ESPN became acrimonious and public over the past several weeks, with the cable operator complaining about the price for ESPN and Disney warning that Altice’s N.Y.-area subscribers would miss out on the Twins-Yankees AL Wild Card game tomorrow, which is exclusively on ESPN. The deal was set to expire over the weekend, with the threat that Disney’s channels, including the broadcast channel WABC, could go dark. ESPN execs clearly expect the Altice deal to provide a blueprint for future carriage deals. As part of the agreement, Altice will drop ESPN Classic.
