DISH Network And Walt Disney Company Do A Rare “Handshake” Carriage Agreement For Cable Networks

In a rarity in the cable network industry, after the Walt DisneyDIS
Company pulled down its networks from satellite video provider DISH NetworkDISH
including ACC Network, ESPN and SEC Network on October 1, the channels went back on the air prior to signing an official contract.

The signals were restored on a “handshake agreement,” on Monday, with no details as of yet as to what concessions were made on either side. The new pact was revealed in time for viewers (who had posted adamant negative remarks on social media) to catch Monday Night Football.

It is not clear whether or not Disney was successful in getting DISH Network to agree to carry ESPN and ESPN2 on their non-sports programming packages. Typically, powerful cable networks like ESPN have certain carriage penetration rates that require cable and satellite operators to abide by, such as forcing them to air the channel across at least 90% of their subscriber base.

However, forcing multichannel operators to carry ESPN on smaller targeted tiers like “family packages,” would be unheard of. These packages were formed in large part due to the rising cost of sports networks which was driving away consumers. As long as cable and satellite operators carried ESPN and other channels on packages served up to the minimum subscriber penetration, the company is well within their rights to market these cheaper packages.

Looking at what rate card is applicable to DISH Network is difficult as there has been so much consolidation in the cable network industry that there are no clear comparables (even the two major satellite operators, DISH Network and DIRECTV have reportedly been in merger discussions for years, but fear anti-trust scrutiny).

Looking at the multichannel industry as a whole, ComcastCMCSA
/Xfinity is clearly the market leader in video subscribers with 17.1 million customers. They are followed by Charter at 15.5 million, DIRECTV at 13.9 million, and DISH Network has 7.8 million subscribers.

The next two largest are not even close (Altice at 2.7 million and Cox at 2.5 million) and there are no other cable operators that are anywhere close to 1 million subscribers. Therefore, it is unclear which video provider is the closest match to compare fees to—DISH is only about half the size of Comcast but 3x the size of its closest two smaller video competitors, Altice and Comcast.

Going forward, it’s unlikely that either company will issue any details regarding the new carriage agreement, with the only possibility of stating how many years the agreement is for. Sports fans at DISH Network, however, will be very relieved to see their games back on the air.

The Walt Disney Company issued a statement that, “We have reached a handshake agreement with DISH/Sling TV, which properly reflects fair market value and terms for The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled content. As a result, we are pleased to restore our portfolio of networks on a temporary basis while both parties work to finalize a new deal.”