Spectrum, the brand name for Charter Communications broadband and video, is launching a new app store and, separately, will partner with Apple on a selection of live Lakers games this season for Apple Vision Pro. Execs talked up both at an event in New York Thursday where CEO Chris Winfrey hosted Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and Kristin Dolan, CEO of AMC Networks for a chat on the video landscape.
The Apple Vision deal will give fans the feeling like they are sitting courtside. Charter unveiled both at event in NYC today and snuck a peek at a new ad, “Where’s My Knicks Game?” with comedian Tracy Morgan and former Knicks All-Star John Starks, fragmentation in sporting events being among the most frustrating to fans and something Charter is trying to simplify.
Charter is the nation’s largest video provider and its offering includes the Disney+ Hulu bundle, ESPN Unlimited, HBO Max basic with ads, Paramount+ Essential, Peacock Premium with ads, AMC+ with ads, ViX Premium with ads, Tennis Channel and the new Fox One at no extra cost. Discovery+ with ads and BET+ are coming. That’s a total value of $125, which that Winfrey said makes the high price point of a monthly subscription more palatable. The Spectrum App Store is where customers can activate, manage and upgrade streaming apps included with their plans or à la carte.
Charter inked the first deal of this kind with Disney to resolve a carriage dispute in 2023, announcing then that Disney+ basic ad-supported would be included in Spectrum TV video packages as part of a wholesale arrangement between the companies. The innovative agreement was subsequently extended and also replicated with other programmers when they re-upped.
“The relationship with Charter is the best it’s ever been It was tough negotiations, but that which does not break you makes you stronger, and we got it done,” Pitaro said. “And we just got a renewal done, and we added in Hulu, and we put back in the eight linear channels, all off cycle.”
Dolan said smaller streamer AMC+ has had over 850,000 activations via Charter, “We were thinking ‘hell, yes’” to that deal when it was offered, she said.
Getting the word out to Charter subscribers on the freebies has been the biggest hurdle. Winfrey was honestly brutal as to why. “Customers don’t trust the cable company,” he said. “We have conditioned people to think it is a free trial. It is not. It is included as part of your service.”
Pitaro said programmers need to take some responsibility for raising awareness that, ‘Hey, you are a Charter subscriber, you have access to all of ESPN now so go in and authenticate’.” Winfrey said he’s be happy for the help. “If Moana said that, people would believe it.”
With basketball season gearing up, Rich DiGeronimo, President, Product & Technology, Spectrum, noted that the first four games appear in four separate places – ESPN, Prime Video, MSG and Peacock. “That’s hard …. This is really, really complicated,” he said. Spectrum will simplify the discovery process with a new Xumo feature launching this month that will make it easy for customers to find their favorite teams and discover whether the games are exclusively available via streaming, a regional sports network such (like MSG Network for the Knicks), a national sports channel or app, or a broadcast TV station.
Apple Visio Pro live games, available via streams of up to 150 Mbps, will be accessible to authenticated Spectrum SportsNet subscribers, as well as Spectrum Internet customers, via the Spectrum SportsNet app in the Lakers’ territory. The game replay and highlights in Apple Immersive will also be available on demand via the Spectrum SportsNet app across the Spectrum footprint and on the NBA App for national and international fans.
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