The Walt Disney Co. began the year with a long-term carriage deal with Comcast back in January, and it’s ending it with a similar agreement with Cox Communications. In between, Disney also struck deals this year with Cablevision and Midcontinent Communications.
Like the other deals, Cox is now able to carry Disney programming across televisions, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and Internet-enabled televisions, both in the home and out.
As part of the new multi-year agreement, WatchESPN (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater) launched yesterday as the first of TWDC’s existing authenticated products being made available to Cox customers. Additional authenticated products, including Watch Disney Channel, Watch Disney XD and Watch Disney Junior, are slated to launch next week.
Going forward, the yet-to-be-launched Watch ABC and Watch ABC Family services will also be made available to Cox customers. These products will give Cox customers more opportunities to access live and video-on-demand content, both in-home and out-of-home, on any device.
All told, approximately 70 services were covered by the new agreement, including: ABC, ABC Family, ABC News/Univision Joint Venture, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN 3D, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN Full Court, ESPN3, Longhorn Network and retransmission consent for KABC-TV, as well as more than 10 high-definition networks.
The companies also announced that ESPNEWS and ESPN Classic will be added to Cox TV Connect, Cox’s app that allows customers to watch live TV on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch from anywhere in their homes.
Cox also announced it was increasing the number of channels on Cox TV Connect to 90 starting Monday.
“This comprehensive agreement with The Walt Disney Co. enhances the value of our customers’ experience with our products and services,” said Mark Greatrex, Cox Communications’ senior vice president and chief marketing and sales officer. “Coupled with our investment in our broadband network and the development of innovative services like Cox TV Connect and TV Online, we’re enabling our customers to access their favorite news, sports and entertainment video content whenever and wherever they want it.”
