ESPN Pushes College Channels on Altice in New Fee Talks
- Contract with New York-area provider expires at month’s end
- Disney network starts new round of talks with distributors
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ESPN is pushing cable operator Altice USA Inc. to carry two of its college sports channels and make its flagship network more widely available as part of negotiations to renew a contract expiring at the end of the month, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The negotiations are the first between ESPN and Altice since the latter bought Cablevision Systems last year, obtaining about 2.4 million pay-TV customers in the New York City area. The talks will test whether Walt Disney Co.’s sports network can use its leverage as owner of ESPN, ABC and the Disney Channel to make pay-TV providers carry programming that may not interest all viewers.