NBCUniversal and Charter Communications announced what they called a “holistic” multi-year distribution deal that, as have Charter’s previous renewals, adds streaming, in this case Peacock, to Charter’s Spectrum TV Select video customers.
The agreement calls for Charter to continue carrying NBCUniversal’s full portfolio of broadcast, entertainment, Hispanic, news and sports networks while including streaming apps in the cable bundle by making ad-supported Peacock available to the Spectrum customers at no additional cost in the coming months.
Through similar programming deals reached over the past year, Charter will soon provide Spectrum TV Select video customers up to $65 per month of retail direct-to-consumer streaming value, including Peacock, Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount+, AMC+, BET+, ViX, Max and Discovery+.
Charter also will allow video customers to upgrade to Peacock Premium+, which is ad-free, and will make both Peacock products available for purchase to its millions of broadband-only customers in 2025, advancing Charter’s goal of enhancing the overall value and flexibility of its offerings.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed
“This extension of our strategic relationship with Charter ensures Spectrum video customers will continue to have access to the leading media portfolio, whether they choose to watch on traditional TV or stream it on Peacock,” said Matt Bond, Chairman, Content Distribution, NBCUniversal. “We also achieved our primary goal, which was to strike a deal that recognizes the value of our linear programming and the investments we’ve made in developing premium content, expanding the distribution of Peacock to more consumers.”
In addition to the inclusion of Peacock Premium for Spectrum video customers at no extra charge, the distribution agreement ensures Charter’s continued carriage of NBCUniversal’s NBC and Telemundo-owned stations, Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, E!, MSNBC, Universo, Oxygen, SYFY, Telemundo Network, Universal Kids, USA Network, The Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks and New England Cable News. The following channels will be included in the Spectrum TV Stream service: Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, E!, MSNBC, Oxygen, SYFY and Universal Kids.
“With the renewal of our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal, we now have completed deals with every major programmer to create better flexibility and greater value to our customers by including DTC streaming apps with their Spectrum TV service, at no extra cost,” said Tom Montemagno, Charter’s EVP, Programming Acquisition, which operates the Spectrum brand. “As we look ahead to 2025, we plan to extend this customer-first philosophy and deliver even greater value and choice to better align with customers’ current viewing preferences, including through hybrid linear DTC relationships, DTC streaming to Internet-only subscribers, and smaller video packages with DTC add-ons.”
