Spectrum Negotiations Lead to Class Action Lawsuit

Disney and Spectrum have been in ongoing negotiations for the past few days, and now they have led to a class action lawsuit. Here is the latest.

Disney and Spectrum

This past weekend, Spectrum subscribers were in for an abrupt and unwelcome surprise as every single Disney-owned channel went dark. These channels include ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., FX, Freeform, National Geographic, and many more. In some cases, people experienced this in the middle of the US Open, an NCAA football game, or a movie. Others did not realize the issue was happening until the next morning when they went to turn on the television.

Disney and Charter Communications are in an ongoing carriage dispute, and they failed to reach a negotiation. As a result, consumers are suffering. You can read more details and thoughts from both companies HERE.

Statement from Disney

Disney issued a new statement pertaining to the matter. You can read more about Disney’s statement HERE. Disney went on to encourage viewers to switch to one of the providers that currently offer its content.

It seemed that the company was hopeful that these negotiations would work in favor of the consumers. However, it does not appear to be the case.

Class Action Lawsuit

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Charter has now been named in a proposed class action lawsuit. In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, “it seeks an order that would require Charter to cease blacking out Disney channels or provide reimbursement for those that are not being provided.”

In the meantime, Charter has offered their customers a $15 rebate, BUT only if they call in to customer service. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract “and engaging in deceptive trade practices, as they continued billing for services not delivered”.

Charter has now been named in a proposed class action lawsuit.

“We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase,” the message stated. “They also want to limit our ability to provide greater customer choice in programming packages forcing you to take and pay for channels you may not want. We are very disappointed with their position, which has negatively impacted our customers.”

Charter sent out a message to customers at the start of the blackout saying, “The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable TV prices, and we are fighting hard to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney.”

No statements from either company have been released about the lawsuit at this time.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

What do you think of the latest dispute between these two companies? Are you one of the customers affected? Let us know in the comments below or share this post with a friend.