Comcast has renewed its distribution deal with Disney, signing on for another 10 years. Programming from ABC, ESPN and 68 other channels or services is included in the deal, as is streaming to portable devices such as notebooks, iPhones and iPads through dedicated apps. Under the deal, Comcast will pay more money to Disney with each successive year as license fee schedules are introduced over time, which will more than likely translate to increased bills for Xfinity users.
Comcast users will also get the ability to stream sports thanks to Disney’s WatchESPN app and live Disney programming, though live ABC streaming doesn’t appear to be part of the contract. What will become of ABC.com or Hulu wasn’t disclosed either. The fees for the retransmission of ABC-owned local stations are covered under the new deal, which were free in the past. Skipping ads during ABC video-on-demand programming is no longer supported either.
How much money the deal is worth hasn’t been publicly disclosed.
