Verizon will remove four cable networks owned by the Walt Disney Company from all of its Fios TV packages in April, The Desk has learned.
The networks — Disney Jr., Disney XD, FX Movie Channel and National Geographic Wild — will no longer be available to Fios TV customers in areas where Verizon offers land-based service, starting April 14.
Other Disney-owned channels, including FX, National Geographic, the Disney Channel, ESPN and local ABC-owned TV stations, will not be affected by the move.
Verizon began e-mailing its Fios TV subscribers earlier this week to advise them of their decision to drop the channels by next month. The company encouraged subscribers to log on to their Verizon account to review their options, but no packages will be available that offers the four affected Disney-owned networks from mid-April, leaving customers with few paths to receive them.
The removal of the channels comes at a time when Verizon is increasingly focused on its land-based broadband service and fixed wireless Internet solutions, which are more-financially lucrative compared to its cable TV offering. The company continues to Fios TV available in areas where it offers Fios broadband Internet, but encourages subscribers to look at alternative solutions.
One of the alternatives promoted by Verizon over the past few years is YouTube TV, a Google-owned streaming pay TV service that offers nearly 100 broadcast channels and cable networks Disney and other programmers. The four cable networks being dropped from Fios TV are all available in YouTube TV’s base programming package, which costs $83 per month.
Some Disney-owned channels are also available in MyEntertainment, a $35 per month streaming TV package offered by DirecTV Stream. That plan includes FX, FXX, FX Movie Channel, Freeform, National Geographic and National Geographic Wild, though it doesn’t offer the flagship Disney Channel or ABC. That said, MyEntertainment does offer access to the ad-supported plans of Hulu and Disney Plus at no extra cost, and those two services offer many of the same TV shows and movies as the Disney channels being dropped by Verizon Fios TV.
For those who insist on having all of Disney’s linear TV networks at the best possible rate, Hulu with Live TV offers local ABC stations and affiliates, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPN U, FX, FXX, FX Movie Channel, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, Freeform, plus ad-supported access to Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus for $83 per month — the same price YouTube TV charges.
