NEW YORK —Verizon and the Disney cut a TV Everywhere deal for the Disney, ABC and ESPN networks. Under the arrangement, Verizon FiOS customers will have access to the new authenticated services Watch ABC, Watch Disney Channel, Watch Disney XD and Watch Disney Junior, as well as the yet-to-be-launched Watch ABC Family service.
Verizon will also add Fusion, the upcoming news, information and lifestyle multiplatform network for Hispanics, the youngest and fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. The English-language joint venture from ABC and Univision is set to launch later this year. Maitreyi Krishnaswamy, director of FiOS TV product strategy and development, said the deal brings the FiOS TV Everywhere channel count to 53.
TV Everyhwere—big or little “E,”— is both branded and industry vernacular for pay TV content made available on peripheral devices via broadband. FiOS subscribers with broadband connections can access the My Verzon portal, sign in with a user name and password, and watch ABC, ESPN and Disney shows on laptops, Apple or Android tablets or smartphones.
The new services included in the agreement are:
- Watch ABC, currently available in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Raleigh-Durham—with launches planned for Houston and Fresno, Calif., this fall. The service provides live access to ABC shows and local market programming, as well as a variety of on-demand content.
- Watch Disney products including Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior.
- Fusion, the ABC-Univision English-language joint venture, scheduled to launch later this year.
