Verizon is bombarded on all four corners, and even with the current strike from the union workers, Verizon once again faces another operational hurdle. It appears that ESPN and Verizon's ties might be severed if both sectors do not settle the "skinny bundle" lawsuit.
ESPN and Verizon Communications affirmed that they have reached a settlement in their lawsuit over Verizon's "skinny bundle" TV initiative, clearing a path for pay-TV providers to experiment with new ways of selling TV channels, reports USA Today.
Moreover, about a year ago, Verizon started selling new plans that allowed customers to select a base package of channels including local broadcast stations, HGTV, CNN, Food Network and other popular cable networks and options to add more channels based on genres for additional fees and ESPN was conspicuously excluded from the base channel package, as noted by the same post.
Owing to that marketing scheme, ESPN cited of a foul play and since Walt Disney owned the sports channel, a claim was legally passed on to ensure that its rights are protected and its channel is treated fairly.
Industry analysts perceived the move of Verizon as a marketing scheme that determines the strength of the channel along with consumer demand. It is undeniable that ESPN gains high per-subscriber fees from pay-TV providers, it is often noted as one of the most expensive channels for cable and satellite companies that gains approximate figures of $7 per subscriber.
It is irrefutable that as of the moment, Verizon's operations have been marred and flunked by the union workers. iTech Post formerly reported that even other regions such as Delaware and the East Coast have been crippled by the strike.
Even though it was not able to fully placate the issues concerning the strike, Verizon was able to gain an even footing with ESPN. It stands to reason that both segments have reached an agreement. To prove the latter, "ESPN is an important partner of ours," said Terry Denson, Verizon's vice president of content strategy and acquisition. "We look forward to further collaborating with them to deliver customers content across all of our platforms."
