There’s good news for Spectrum and Disney customers

If all the streaming crisscrossing has made you crazy and a little lighter in your wallet, a groundbreaking cable bundle has emerged that might bring some relief.

In the kind of strategic move we all wished the cable industry had made a decade ago when cable subscriptions were still widespread, Charter’s Spectrum cable and Disney’s streaming services are coming together to unify their services via a new bundle. 

What subscribers will get now are packages that look like this:

• Subscribe to Spectrum’s TV Select package and you’ll get Disney Plus Basic (the ad-supported version)
• Subscribe to the Spectrum TV Select Plus package and you’ll get ESPN+

“The result should function sort of as Max currently does: if you subscribe to HBO through your cable provider, you get Max for free; Disney Plus will start to feel the same,” TheVerge’s Alex Cranz explained.

“In addition to the included subscriptions, Charter is taking a page from the book of Amazon and Apple, allowing you to essentially combine your bills,” Cranz said. 

“Do you have to get Spectrum cable because that’s the only internet provider in town? Well, soon, you might be able to bundle your Hulu with Live TV service, too. Multiple services, one bill.”

Across the street, a big-time sports deal

For Sports fans who think that ESPN isn’t giving them all they want, there’s a new Bleacher Report Sports add-on tier over at Max (HBO), which cut a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. 

Beginning October 5, the package will deliver a stadium-sized list of live sports including:

• MLB (including postseason play),
• NHL,
• NBA (with postseason action),
• NCAA Men’s March Madness, and
• U.S. Soccer events,
• The Match, 
• Inside the NBA,
• Live video content from B/R covering a wide array of sports,
• Select live international sports events such as 24 Hours of Le Mans, and
• Extensive video-on-demand content.

“We knew this was likely coming at some point and in some fashion. The great sports migration from linear to streaming has been slow, as some of the premier properties have only come there in dribs and drabs, but this is the biggest move yet,” said The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch and Mike Vorkunov. 

“Warner Bros. Discovery (through TNT, TBS, TruTV) and ESPN are the largest broadcasters of sports in the U.S. and to this point they have kept their best stuff on linear TV, understandably trying to maintain the revenue they make in carriage fees, even as cord cutting has buffeted the cable industry. But, still, this felt inevitable.”

One other quick hit on deals for sports junkies: DealNews reports that Paramount+ is offering a $2.50/mo. for 12 month deal. 

It does, however, require a year’s purchase upfront, but that’s 58% off, which is pretty considerable. Included are: NFL on CBS and soccer matches, along with exclusive originals, shows, and movies, and live 24/7 live news with CBS News.

Use code “SPORTS” to claim the deal.