Disney and Verizon Make New Carriage Deal for Fios

Verizon subscribers who were worried about missing out on Disney content need not worry, as the two companies announced a new carriage deal that will begin in 2019.

The deal was reported by Variety, and it means that Fios subscribers will not miss out on upcoming programs such as ESPN‘s broadcast of the NCAA Football National Championship between Alabama and Clemson.

“Verizon and The Walt Disney Company have reached a broad-based distribution agreement. Details will be released in the coming days,” said the companies in a joint statement.

This comes after Disney-owned networks began airing ads warning of blackout, imploring Fios customers to call and demand Verizon make a deal. The current arrangement was set to expire on December 31st, which would have removed channels like ESPN, the Disney Channel, Freeform, and more from Verizon’s television service.

According to the report, Verizon had about 4.6 million subscribers in 2017, but lost more than 60,000 earlier this year due to “ongoing shifts away from linear video offerings,” referring to services like Netflix and Hulu.

While there was fear that Fios subscribers would be missing out on things like the big college football championship game, the two sides continued negotiations without a lapse in content.

“Our proven history of providing extraordinary value to consumers and distributors is unmatched,” Disney previously said in a statement. “Our negotiations continue in earnest and we remain optimistic that we can reach a deal.”

Verizon chimed in as well: “We are actively negotiating with Disney to ensure the best deal for our customers.”

The future of Verizon’s TV service is somewhat murky at this point, as the company is also planning its own streaming service. They acquired both AOL and Yahoo in recent years in hopes of bolstering its own content creation businesses.

Disney is also in the process of creating their own streaming service, recently revealed to be branded as Disney+. They have already announced original content for the platform, including live-action series from Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios. The service is set to launch later in 2019.