Turner Broadcasting System and Verizon said they agreed to a comprehensive long-term distribution agreement that gives FiOS TV customers access to Turner network programming over multiple screens and devices.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but parent Time Warner has told Wall Street analysts that the company intends to get hefty gains in sub fees during a round of contract renewals between 2013 and 2016.
The Verizon deal was announced a day after Turner and a smaller carrier, Cable One, failed to reach an agreement, resulting in a rare black out of the Turner networks. During a recent conference call with analysts, Time Warner executives said Turner had also reached a long-term deal with a Top 5 distributor. That distributor has not been disclosed, but industry sources speculated that it could be Dish Network.
"This agreement between our two companies represents another renewal with a leading distributor for our valuable content across our expansive portfolio of networks, and further enhances our mutual goal to deliver premium video content to our respective subscribers and viewers across a variety of screens," David Levy, Turner Broadcasting System president, said in a statement.
As part of the agreement between Turner and Verizon, FiOS TV customers will have TV Everywhere access to Turner programming, including live streaming, as well as a robust offering of on demand programming.
"FiOS TV customers will enjoy the wide variety of content from across all major Turner networks on TV and a growing base of digitally connected devices," said Terry Denson, VP of Content Strategy and Acquisition at Verizon. "Our agreement helps ensure consumers will soon be able to watch Turner content live and on demand, and both inside and outside of the home, with our FiOS Mobile App and our FiOS TV Online website."
The agreement covers five million subscribers and includes Turner's CNN, HLN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon, truTV, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, CNN International, CNN en Espanol and Boomerang.
