Comcast and Disney have renewed their content carriage agreement for Disney’s channel lineup including the ACC Network, which will be available on Xfinity in the coming weeks.
Beside the inclusion of the ACC Network, a regional sports network focused on Atlantic Conference Conference sports coverage, the multi-year agreement covers continued distribution of Disney’s cable channels including the ESPN networks, the Disney branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels.
“We’re very happy to extend our longstanding relationship with Comcast and continue to provide their Xfinity customers with Disney’s best-in-class programming,” said Sean Breen, executive vice president of platform distribution at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, in a statement. “In addition to our news, sports and general entertainment offerings, the launch of the ACC Network in the coming weeks, paired with the renewal of the SEC Network, will give Xfinity’s college sports fans long-awaited access to their favorite games.”
RELATED: Disney+ and ESPN+ arrive on Comcast X1 and Flex platforms
The ACC Network launched in 2019 and had managed to work out distribution agreements with many major cable and satellite operators but not Comcast. Last month, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips signaled that the two parties were “really close” to finally reaching a deal.
The renewal also includes continued distribution of the SEC Network and retransmission consent for the ABC Owned Television Stations in New York (ABC7/WABC-TV), Chicago (ABC7/WLS-TV), Philadelphia (6ABC/WPVI-TV), San Francisco (ABC7/KGO-TV), Houston (ABC13/KTRK-TV), Raleigh-Durham (ABC11/WTVD-TV) and Fresno (ABC30/KFSN-TV).
Earlier this year, Comcast launched Disney+ and ESPN+ to Xfinity customers on X1 and Flex. Users on those platforms can access Disney programming by saying the name of a Disney channel (like “Freeform” or “ESPN”) or streaming services (like “Disney+,” “Hulu” or “ESPN+”) in the voice remote, or by saying the name of a title from the Disney channels or streaming services.