Stephen A. Smith, Company Man, Helps ESPN Do PR In Cable Dispute With Spectrum

The Walt Disney Company is getting some help from the big guns in its carriage dispute with Charter Communications. This includes ESPN's biggest star, Stephen A. Smith.

Disney is at odds with Charter Communications, which has left millions of Charter's Spectrum cable customers without any Disney-owned channels including ESPN.

Millions were left frustrated when Spectrum pulled Disney's channels just before kickoff of last Thursday's game between Utah and Florida.

On Tuesday, Smith tweeted a message to Spectrum customers affected by the impasse, letting them know that there were other options for them to access ESPN.

"Don’t know if y’all heard all the news going on in the Charter Markets with Spectrum, but folks are once again coming after the World Wide Leader," Smith's message reads. "Fans currently don’t have access to live games on ESPN Networks — or any content from Disney-Branded Channels Freeform, FX and Nat GEO."

The message then herded annoyed viewers to a website that told them alternative ways to access ESPN programming.

"Bottom Line: YOU HAVE CHOICES!!!" Smith posted. "DIRECTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling, Fubo, are all available. Just download the app and sign up with no service call."

This dispute between Disney and Spectrum comes as cable numbers continue to dip, cutting into ESPN's revenue stream. While sports networks like ESPN are still the biggest draw for cable packages, companies like Spectrum likely feel Disney is over-valuing ESPN. Especially amid rumblings that the company — which owns 80% of ESPN — might go the direct-to-consumer route with the network.

This is a rough time of year to lose out on sports coverage with both college and NFL football getting underway.

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