Sprint Nextel will become the first mobile operator to provide full-length, on-demand episodes of ABC TV shows -- including Lost and Grey’s Anatomy -- as well as linear feeds of Disney Channel in a deal announced Tuesday with Disney-ABC Television Group.
Sprint will also be the first wireless operator to provide ABC Mobile, a newly created news and entertainment channel that includes full-length episodes of primetime programming, as well as ABC News' Good Morning America, World News with Charles Gibson and other news content. The channel will provide short-form promotional content from ABC shows.
In addition, Sprint will carry ABC News Now, a 24-hour linear channel; on-demand, full-length episodes of popular Disney Channel programs, including Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Cory in the House and animated series Kim Possible; and on-demand ABC News programs.
The companies did not disclose financial terms of the multiyear deal.
The Disney and ABC content will be included as part of the Sprint Power Vision TV Pack, which costs an additional $20 per month and includes 20 other channels of content. Sprint also will sell Disney Channel content via the Power Vision Access Pack, which costs an extra $15 per month.
Sprint and Disney-ABC Television Group plan to sell advertising beginning this fall against “selected” entertainment and news content “in order to provide customers with the most variety of content at the least cost to them.”
"We continue to be focused on finding new ways to connect viewers to the content they want and brands they love on the platforms they choose,” Disney-ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney said in a prepared statement. “This deal not only provides new viewing opportunities for consumers, but also gives advertisers another platform to reach viewers and associate with our powerful network brands."
The companies said on-demand shows will be available the day after their TV premieres and Sprint customers will typically have access to the four most recently televised episodes of a series.
