A year after its carriage dispute with The Walt Disney Co. made headlines, Charter Spectrum has inked another new deal with a different company, but one that furthers its goal of merging the worlds of streaming and linear paid TV.
The cable company on Wednesday said that it had inked a multiyear deal with AMC Networks, which owns AMC, IFC, BBC America, We TV and Sundance TV, as well as streaming services like AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, and ALLBLK.
While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Charter and AMC say that the new agreement (which they note was consummated “early”) will see AMC+ made available to Spectrum TV Select customers at no extra charge.
Since the Disney deal, which saw Disney+ and for some customers ESPN+ added at no extra charge, Charter has also cut deals with Paramount, which is making Paramount+ and BET+ available to its customers; and TelevisaUnivision, which is adding its ViX streaming service to the mix.
Charter says that with the AMC deal, its TV customers are getting more than $40 per month in streaming services at no extra charge.
“This agreement with AMC Networks supports our goal of enhancing the value and variety of premium entertainment content available to our customers,” said Tom Montemagno, executive VP of programming acquisition for Charter. “The addition of AMC+ at no extra cost for our TV Select customers builds on our new distribution framework, which this year alone has included the addition of Paramount+ Essential, ViX Premium with Ads, Disney+ and ESPN+. We appreciate AMC Networks’ partnership in reaching a distribution agreement that benefits our mutual customers and helps transform the video industry.”
As it happens, Disney now finds itself in another dispute, this time with DirecTV, which is similarly framing the fight as existential.
“This early, multi-year agreement between Charter and AMC Networks ensures Spectrum TV customers will continue to have access to our high-quality original programming however they prefer to watch it, including through the ad-supported version of AMC+,” added Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer of AMC Networks. “Charter has been a long-time partner, and this agreement reflects our strong and mutually beneficial relationship and commitment to viewers.”