Univision Signs Up Charter, Cable One
Staff -- Multichannel News, 4/16/2001
NEW YORK — Univision Communications Inc. last week said its Spanish-language networks have signed "formal" affiliation agreements with Charter Communications Inc. and Cable One Inc.
The two MSOs already combine for 3 million Univision subscribers and 1 million Galavisión subscribers; most of those homes are in Charter systems.
Those carriage arrangements were based on regional agreements, which are superseded by the new corporate deals. Markets involved include: Atlanta; St. Louis; Tulsa, Okla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Minneapolis; Charleston, S.C., and Portland, Ore.
Univision has sought license fees in markets where it had previously offered its signal for no charge. In February, the network pulled itself from Buckeye CableSystem in Toledo, Ohio, after that operator declined to pay the demanded fee. Buckeye then signed a five-year deal to replace Univision with rival network Telemundo.
Charter and Cable One had been paying license fees for the Univision networks, a source familiar with the deal said.
In a news release Tuesday, a Charter official said the networks "deliver significant entertainment value for a growing segment of our customer base," and a Cable One executive called Univision "the most requested Hispanic network by our customers."
Charter, the No. 4 domestic MSO, has about 6.4 million cable subscribers; No. 1 operator Cable One has some 787,000 customers.
