Charter Spectrum takes the path of least resistance with streamers

The news: Charter Spectrum is adding Max to its Spectrum TV Select cable package at no additional cost in a renewed carriage deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. This early renewal, more than a year before the deadline, contrasts markedly with last year’s drawn-out carriage fee battle with Disney.

Zoom out: The companies’ 2023 clash resulted in a favorable deal for Disney that saw Charter Spectrum offer Disney’s streaming services at no extra cost. This set a new model for streamer-pay TV relations that is continuing in the Spectrum-WBD deal.

• Over time, pay TV services are likely to lose customers to streaming services, which charge lower prices for a large catalog of video entertainment. We forecast 53.3 million traditional pay TV US households this year, declining to 40.8 million by 2028.