Warner Bros. Discovery and Charter Communications said the reached a new multi-year distribution deal that gives Charter subscribers access to WBD’s Max streaming service as part of their pay TV bundle.
Charter, concerned about the migration of premium programming from broadcast and cable TV networks to streaming services, has been negotiating deals that includes streaming programming.
It has reached similar deals with The Walt Disney Co., Paramount Global, TelevisaUnivision and AMC Networks.
“This strategic relationship with WBD further evolves the linear and broadband video distribution model and supports Spectrum’s efforts to provide flexible packages, whether through hybrid linear-DTC full video relationships, smaller video packages with DTC add-ons, or a suite of a-la-carte or bundled DTC options for broadband customers,” said Chris Winfrey, CEO of Charter, which operates the Spectrum brand. “The inclusion of the ad-supported version of Max and Discovery Plus in our most popular packages at no additional cost ensures we provide the most value to our customers, particularly when combined with the utility of Xumo, which seamlessly integrates live linear, DVR and VOD, DTC, and SVOD content with unified search and discovery for the best overall customer experience. WBD’s creativity and commitment to a healthier video ecosystem further enables us to deliver on our core principles to create value and choice for customers.”
WBD is under pressure to maintain distribution revenue with the prospect of losing rights to the NBA after next season.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The new deal with charter covers networks including TNT, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, TBS, Adult Swim and Investigation Discovery. It also makes Max a preferred partner for Spectrum when marketing and selling DTC apps and bundles to broadband subscribers.
“This innovative partnership with Charter recognizes the value of our linear content and the investments we’ve made in premium original programming, sports and news, while also significantly expanding the distribution of Max’s ad-supported service to Spectrum’s millions of Select customers,” said WBD CEO David Zaslav. “We did this agreement together nearly a year early to set a framework for the future and to provide more consumers access to our unparalleled content offering while giving the industry more resilience as it evolves. We are pleased this achieves each of our company’s objectives.”
