We’ve Made Progress With Disney, Working Together to Beat the Deadline

Aug 29 2010

We’ve Made Progress With Disney, Working Together to Beat the Deadline

You better believe that it brings me a deep and tremendous pleasure to share the following statement with you, straight from our negotiating room this weekend:

The Walt Disney Company and Time Warner Cable have made significant progress in our negotiations for continued distribution of ABC, Disney and ESPN networks and services. We are now focusing all our attention on a successful conclusion of these efforts prior to the September 2 deadline.

Like I said on Friday — Relax. Breathe. We’re committed to keeping Disney, ESPN, and ABC on the air. And we’re doing everything we can to get this over with as smoothly and as early as possible.

And, as always, we’re happy to hear from you in the comments.

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79 Comments »

79 Responses to “We’ve Made Progress With Disney, Working Together to Beat the Deadline”

Eric
Sep 01, 2010
at 12:34 pm

I called two weeks ago for a status update and the rep had no idea there was even an issue.
Jeff Simmermon
Sep 01, 2010
at 2:05 pm

Well, that’s one of the reasons we have this blog — it’s a reliable source of information from someone who is very close to the negotiations. Keep checking in here and you’ll get as much as I can share as soon as I can share it.
Justin Miller
Sep 01, 2010
at 4:02 pm

If a deal has not been reached yet, how is Time Warner advertising the espn gameplan package. If you dont have an agreement with Disney, Espn you cant sell that package. Correct? Im in North Carolina and all of the sports radio talk shows said the deal was done and multiple other media outlets on the internet (I believe that was on Monday of this week) and I was really relieved because I was going to change Monday afternoon to DISH if the deal wasnt done by then. Now it looks like I am going to be screwed because my team plays on ESPN Thursday night and now you are saying the deal aint done. So I the loyal customer to TWC that wants to stay with you gets screwed. It sounds to me like TWC probably leaked a message that the deal was done or on the verge of being done because so many people were turning to the other choices like DISH. I dont think this is all TWC’s fault but I believe both sides have showed plenty of greed. Meanwhile, all of the people like me that want to be loyal to companies like TWC get run over. Thanks Jeff for the updates?
Jeff Simmermon
Sep 01, 2010
at 4:07 pm

A LOT of people misreported that story, Justin. Check in here for the real scoop.
Justin Miller
Sep 01, 2010
at 4:18 pm

Well Jeff, what is the real scoop? Are the loyal customers of TWC going to lose Disney, ESPN, and ABC at midnight tonight or not? Because that is the only scoop I care about and I have been checking in here but in here we have gotten alot of vague answers. I think we deserve the truth period and not a bunch of “it is all their fault” mumbojumbo that we have been getting from both sides.
Justin Miller
Sep 01, 2010
at 6:01 pm

I am not going to make personal attacks on you Jeff (like others have on here) because I am smart enough to know this situation is not your fault but your lack of a response to my last message is very telling. All I want is the truth, I have people coming over to watch a game and was told by multiple outlets that the deal had been done. Please be upfront and honest with your customers and answer the question. Will TWC customers lose Disney, ESPN, and ABC at midnight tonight? Thank You
Jeff Simmermon
Sep 01, 2010
at 7:20 pm

Justin- I’m sorry that you feel like I am evading you here. In all honesty, your last comment came in while I was on my way to the airport. In that time, I have concluded a cab ride, boarded a plane, flown to Virginia and am now waiting for my mother to pick me up. Unless my lack of response told you that, I’d imagine that you are jumping to conclusions

In all honesty, the reason I can’t tell you if Disney will pull their signals tonight or not, is because I don’t know myself. I will be on calls into the night on this one, and as soon as I can tell you, I will.
Justin Miller
Sep 01, 2010
at 7:44 pm

Thank you, Jeff. Again I know this aint your fault. So I guess you are telling us that we should cross our fingers and hope that Disney doesn’t pull the signal and that TWC and Disney have not come to an agreement. I asked an earlier question about the ESPN gameplan package that was not answered and was just wandering how TWC can advertise that package and take customers money and yet not know whether or not TWC is even going to have a deal in place to even carry regular ESPN programming. Are yall offering that pay per view package because you think a deal with Disney is imminent or what? Or can you have a pay per view package without having the channel associated with it? Just trying to figure all this mess out. Sorry to bother you today but i guess it is your job to take care of your customers concerns and to answer this blog which I am sure at times hasnt been much fun for you!
Roger
Sep 01, 2010
at 8:23 pm

Justin,

You won’t get an answer about ESPN as much as I haven’t got an answer the last 8 years about why Bright House (TWC) still refuses to carry NFL.Network.

I guess it’s a better profit for TWC to lose the few that bitch about NFL.Network than to provide it, but hey I have the 24hr golf channel!
Scott
Sep 02, 2010
at 12:06 am

So it is just 5 after midnight and espn is still working, what does this mean? Was a deal agreed upon?
Mike
Sep 02, 2010
at 1:00 am

With only 2 more hours to go until the midnight deadline (PST) I would think that you guys would be posting updates on here at least every 1/2 hour to keep your customers informed. I see no updates so I am wondering if I should be considering canceling my account with TWC at midnight or are you and Disney coming to some sort of an agreement? Trust me, I have the phone by my side and ready to make that cancellation call at midnight if ABC and ESPN go black. What is happening, keep us in the loop if you don’t want to loose us.
Jay
Sep 02, 2010
at 1:06 am

I appriciate TWC standing firm to Disney / ABC / ESPN on this issue. But, however it goes we’re going to see either an increase in price we pay or a loss of service.

The real issue I have with TWC is the equipment. The equipment sucks. Seems like every 6 months I have to exchange my HD DVR because it cuts off, doesn’t record, guide doesn’t update, or just stops working. It’s a SLOW piece of you know what.

I’ve had TWC forever and see no benifits of keeping it. The possibility of switching to DirectTV is in my future. It’s cheaper, everyone I talk to loves the DVR and has the NFL Network. If I do switch I’ll still keep my Road Runner and phone. No problems with them, ever.
Bri
Sep 02, 2010
at 1:38 am

If Disney wants to raise their rates by 300%, just let them go. There are a bazillion other good channels to watch. I’m sure we can all adjust.
Jason
Sep 02, 2010
at 2:30 am

So when do we get ESPN3.com access?
David Shelden
Sep 02, 2010
at 6:45 am

It’s 6:43 AM in Cleveland and I still have ESPN but if I lose it anytime after now I’ll be pissed because I was gonna switch if I lost it.
David Shelden
Sep 02, 2010
at 6:46 am

Jeff I would also like to know why TWC does not carry the NFL network.
Clay
Sep 02, 2010
at 9:39 am

9:33 am in Raleigh NC. Do we have a deal or not?
Clay
Sep 02, 2010
at 9:39 am

one thing at a time – lets make sure we keep ESPN 1st.
Bryan Trautloff
Sep 02, 2010
at 11:27 am

Jeff: Give me ESPN & ESPN3 access, thats all. Can the rest of the Disney fluff and lower my bill.

If you read the comments on your discussion page you will see the majority of them call for a la carte pricing on channels. Help us help you. By seeing the demand on a per channel basis you can work out pricing that is more competitive.
Chris Blau
Sep 02, 2010
at 11:38 am

If Time Warner loses ESPN then I will drop Time Warner. If they keep ESPN but my monthly bill goes up then I will drop Time Warner. AT&T’s service is better and cheaper. Time Warner is still stuck in the times when they had a monopoly in certain areas. They think they can do whatever they want. If ESPN wants more money then pay. How much are they really asking for a few cents? I know TWC thinks they will be able to raise rates dollars per subscriber and use this as an excuse.
Pat Dicorte
Sep 02, 2010
at 11:40 am

I have inquired for 3 weeks about getting the “Early Bird Special” for Gane Plan on ESPN..which was offered to us last year for about $100.
How MUCH money does Time Warner and Disney need to have ???
“Even children know it’s wrong to treat new friends better than old friends” .
Michael Clay
Sep 02, 2010
at 1:21 pm

1:19 pm In Raleigh

Do we have a deal or not?

Updates?
Mikey
Sep 02, 2010
at 5:57 pm

Deal is done.
Paula
Sep 03, 2010
at 12:18 pm

ABC, Disney and ESPN are garbage. When are we going to get a la carte pricing??????
Robert
Sep 03, 2010
at 10:20 pm

no one asked me if I wanted Disney stuff (and I don’t)!
dread pirate roberts
Sep 21, 2010
at 12:07 pm

Paula, in a word….never. A la carte pricing would seriously raise your rates. As is it, the cost per channel is spilt between 12.5 million viewers give or take. Networks bundle their networks and “force” cable companies to take all or none. NBC has about 8 networks, and you don’t know about 6 of them. The most expensive is ESPN at $4.03 per sub and the cheapest is a channel like Hallmark or WE at .03 cents per sub. If you get to pick and choose the 10 fav channels YOU watch and it turns out you are in a group of about 1 -2 percent who like that particular channel, it could potentially cost you upwards of 40 to 50 bucks for just ONE channel. It’s how the numbers work out. A la Carte cable is a dream and not realistic in any sense of today’s providers. It sounds nice when you say it, but the reality is, the providers like TWC/Dish/DTV/UVerse, are at the mercy of the networks. U-Verse is fighting Hallmark who wants a HUGE increase on the contract negoations just because of Martha Stewart. (as an example) so if you did not have a provider between you and the networks, you would be at the mercy of their price hikes with no recourse. It sucks to have to pay for cable TV. This is America, and it’s not required. There is always the OTA option. In some areas, you can get some good local sub channels, like Dallas, you’ll get about 30 OTA options now with the new digital boxes.
dread pirate roberts
Sep 21, 2010
at 12:16 pm

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100308/hate-paying-for-cable-heres-the-reason-why/?mod=ATD_rss

This has the rates for most cab;e channels and how much providers have to pay.
dread pirate roberts
Sep 21, 2010
at 12:18 pm

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100219/how-much-do-you-really-want-your-mtv-or-your-abc-or-fox-or-your-food-network-cablevision-wants-to-know/?mod=fox
Jerry Cooper
Oct 29, 2010
at 6:15 pm

ESPN Gameplan in the Austin Texas area from Time warner is a joke. Channels 901-906 never work on saturadys when you want it. I paid for it, but Time Warner can’t deliver