In September Spectrum reached a deal with Disney that removed eight networks including Freeform, Nat Geo Wild, FXX, Disney Junior, and Disney XD from Spectrum. Now Spectrum’s CFO Jessica Fischer says they plan to drop even more channels.
According to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, Spectrum plans to drop less popular channels and bundle more streaming services. The hope is that they will be able to create smaller, cheaper bundles of channels and streaming services.
“By pushing value back into the bundle, including the SVOD service, you create value, which helps you from a consumer perception standpoint. And creating a skinnier bundle, where customers get the content that they want for a price that they’re capable of paying, creates value,” she told the investors conference.
“If there’s a programmer who is making their content available in a direct-to-consumer service, and our customers are paying for that content in a linear service, our expectation is that direct-to-consumer service would be a part of our bundle,” Fischer insisted.
But will content partners agree to these terms? Recently Paramount announced deals to bring Paramount+ to some cable bundles but said they wouldn’t be dropping any channels. Who will be willing to drop their channels in exchange for bundling their streaming services with cable TV? Will Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, or AMC be willing to follow Disney? Only time will tell what will happen.
What is clear is Spectrum is ready and willing to get into fights with media companies to reach deals to bundle streaming services and offer smaller bundles of channels to consumers.