Comcast, Disney wed till next decade

US cableco Comcast Communications has scored a major multi-year programming pact with The Walt Disney Company covering TV, web and mobile devices.

Under terms of the deal Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers will gain access to Mouse House-owned news, sports, children’s and entertainment content.

Channels covered by the agreement are ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNews, ESPN Classic, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN 3D, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FullCourt and ESPN3.

Xfinity customers with subscription to the Disney Channel will also now get access to the Disney On Demand player.

Furthermore, the deal will see Comcast launch basic cable preschool net Disney Junior. The US’s largest cableco also gets seven years of retransmission consent for a number of ABC-owned local television channels.

The latter element should end the potential for carriage disputes between the pair for the period of the deal. Retransmission fees have been a contentious issue in the US for some time now, with a number of disputes between cablecos and content distributors currently rumbling on.

Comcast will see the deal as a major lift for cable television, having argued for rights that gives its subscribers access to content wherever they are and on any device – the so-called TV Everywhere initiative.

An overall total of 70 services are included in the latest arrangement, with license fee schedules for different elements “phased in over time,” according to the pair. While the length of the deal was not disclosed, it allies the two parties at least until the next decade.

“We are very pleased to have reached this unprecedented and innovative, long-term agreement with Disney, which embraces the future of entertainment and allows Comcast to continue to bring our vision of TV Everywhere to Xfinity customers, whether at home or on the go,” said Neil Smit, president and CEO of Comcast Cable.

“This landmark deal is a great example of what can be achieved when programmers and distributors collaborate and innovate together to meet the ever-evolving needs of consumers and enhance the viewing experience,” added Disney Media Networks’ co-chairman and president Anne Sweeney.