Disney Urges Spectrum Users to Switch to Hulu Live Amid Fee Battle Blackout

As the dispute between Disney and Charter Spectrum rages on, the streamer has urged users of the pay-TV service to switch to Hulu Live (which Disney owns) if they want to see all the latest sports, news, and entertainment.

The suggestion comes after Disney pulled its channels from Spectrum last Thursday (August 31) amid a tense distribution fee battle between Disney and Charter Spectrum. Viewers were left without networks such as local ABC affiliates and ESPN, meaning they missed the college football games and the US Open (Tennis).

In a blog post on Monday, September 4, Disney said it hoped an agreement would be reached to restore the channels that have been blacked out on Spectrum. However, in the meantime, the streamer recommended users sign up for Hulu’s live television service.

“The service has more than 90 live channels that include sports, news, and entertainment. Hulu + Live TV starts at $69.99 a month, and you can cancel anytime. There’s no contract, no cable box, and no wait time to subscribe,” the blog post read.

“All these services give what so many Spectrum customers wanted this weekend: access to Disney’s portfolio of networks,” the statement continued. “That includes live sports and news coverage plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from the ABC Owned Television Stations, the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels.”

However, not everyone wants to sign up for a new service, and many are wondering if Spectrum will provide credits or discounts for the missing channels. According to some Twitter/X users, Spectrum is offering credits to those affected.

“To those of you with Spectrum cable. I called about not having ESPN, etc. because of Disney withholding their channels while in negotiations with Spectrum. I was given a $15 credit on next months bill,” one person tweeted. “Call Spectrum and complain about these missing channels and get your credit!!”

To those of you with Spectrum cable. I called about not having ESPN, etc. because of Disney withholding their channels while in negotiations with Spectrum. I was given a $15 credit on next months bill. Call Spectrum and complain about these missing channels and get your credit!! pic.twitter.com/HzInadR9jM

— Brian Whitman (@bwhitmanMA) September 4, 2023

@GetSpectrum I contacted customer service an hour ago and they provided me with a $15 credit for the missing disney channels, but the only thing that’s missing is putting the channels back on spectrum

— Jose Torres (@jtorres7201) September 4, 2023

In addition, TVAnserMan.com reports that Spectrum e-mailed customers over the weekend, offering them a 25-30 percent discount on the Fubo live streaming service, which carries ESPN and the Disney channels.