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Disney: Not so fast on skinny bundling, Verizon

Apr. 17, 2015 9:13 PM ETThe Walt Disney Company (DIS) StockDIS, VZBy: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor36 Comments
  • A spokesperson for ESPN (NYSE:DIS) has weighed in on reports that Verizon (NYSE:VZ) will offer unbundled or "skinny" packages to give customers choice about what they receive -- and ESPN says that's not allowed.
  • “Media reports about Verizon’s new contemplated bundles describe packages that would not be authorized by our existing agreements," says the company's statement. "Among other issues, our contracts clearly provide that neither ESPN nor ESPN2 may be distributed in a separate sports package.”
  • The move's unsurprising coming from ESPN, which charges the highest prices per subscriber by far among national cable peers, reportedly now more than $6/month. That compares with TNT at around $1.48/subscriber month.
  • ESPN has made defending bundles a policy priority in Washington, and companies with powerful bundles of channels like Disney (with the various flavors of ESPN as well as the Disney Channel and Soapnet) can force channels with low or no consumer interest into bundles with the desired flagship stations to build their audience.
  • The statement suggests Verizon didn't get a sign-off from Disney before talking about unbundling, though Peter Kafka reports that Verizon's Alberto Canal said the company had gotten authorization from all programmers in its new bundle.

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