Charter Communications, the second-biggest cable operator in the U.S., has reached a second deal to bring a premium streaming service to Spectrum TV customers.
TelevisaUnivision and Charter announced a multiyear carriage-renewal agreement, under which the cable operator will bundle TelevisaUnivision’s new ad-supported premium subscription version of ViX — set to launch later this year — for no additional cost to Spectrum customers who receive TelevisaUnivision channels as part of their Spectrum TV Select or Mi Plan Latino packages.
The pact comes after Charter inked a similar deal with Disney to include the ad-supported version of Disney+ (Disney+ Basic, priced normally at $7.99/month) with all Spectrum TV Select packages nationwide at no additional cost.
TelevisaUnivision’s ViX Premium With Ads offering will give viewers access to the entire ViX Premium content offering, including exclusive original series, novelas, comedies, movies, thousands of live exclusive soccer matches and tens of thousands of hours of library content with a moderate advertising load, the companies said.
In addition to giving Spectrum customers access to the forthcoming ad-supported premium version of ViX, the agreement gives Charter more flexibility in packaging TelevisaUnivision’s U.S. channels. The cable operator said TelevisaUnivision channels will be “an integral launch partner” in a new, low-cost Spanish-language internet-delivered video package that Spectrum will launch in the coming months.
Under the companies’ agreement, Spectrum provides access to TelevisaUnivision’s networks, including Univision, UniMás, Galavisión, TL Novelas, TUDN, FOROtv, Bandamax, De Película, De Película Clasico, Telehit and Telehit Música.
“We’re pleased to enter into an innovative deal with Charter that underscores a shared commitment to the growing Hispanic market and prioritizes their needs and interests, ensuring TelevisaUnivision’s leading content remains available to viewers for years to come,” Mike Angus, executive VP, global distribution and streaming partnerships at TelevisaUnivision, said in announcing the pact. “This deal demonstrates the value we can deliver to our partners and consumers by continuing to invest in both the linear and streaming platforms to create a complementary Spanish-language content ecosystem.”
Tom Montemagno, Charter’s executive VP of programming acquisition, commented, “We appreciate TelevisaUnivision’s willingness to fully support our new distribution framework, which is good for customers and a significant step forward for the video ecosystem. With this agreement, our customers will continue to enjoy access to TelevisaUnivision’s extensive Spanish-language programming, including entertainment and live sports, across multiple platforms. This furthers our goal of providing value to customers by including streaming apps with Spectrum services.”
