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.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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