Charter Communications and its Spectrum brand have spent the last few years reinventing their pay TV product for the streaming era. The shift in strategy, which began with last year’s high-profile distribution conflict with Disney, now sees most of the company’s TV plans include access to streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, Paramount+, Peacock, Fox One, HBO Max and AMC+, among others.
Spectrum now wants to encourage its customers to take advantage of these subscriptions, which the company says offer a value of more than $125 per month, by launching a new Spectrum app store in its mobile app and on its website, intended to streamline this process.
Customers can also pay to upgrade to premium versions of streaming services, while non-video internet customers will also be able to subscribe to services through the store.
“Our new Spectrum App Store delivers what our customers want most: real savings with consumer choice and an easier way to enjoy the streaming apps valued at up to $125 per month that our Seamless Entertainment experience offers,” said Rich DiGeronimo, president of products and technology for Spectrum. “At the same time, we are also creating new opportunities for our programming partners to reach more homes and connect with our broad non-video customer base. In today’s fragmented video landscape, Spectrum combines value, choice and convenience, creating an experience that benefits both our customers and partners.”
The company announced the App Store at an event in New York on Thursday afternoon, which included panels featuring Chris Winfrey, chairman and CEO of Charter, Kristin Dolan, CEO of AMC Networks, and Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN.
Spectrum also announced plans to bring live Los Angeles Lakers games to the Apple Vision Pro device and will be available to authenticated Spectrum SportsNet subscribers, as well as Spectrum Internet customers.
The move is significant because Lakers games will be the first live sports to be accessible through the tech giant’s space headset. Apple Vision Pro has presented immersive videos of sporting events before, but those were all pre-recorded. The live version will give viewers the feeling of sitting pitchside during matches, providing an experience unlike anything currently offered on the market.
The announcements also come as Charter seeks to close a $34.5 billion cable mega-deal for Cox Communications.
