Charter CEO says it is urgent to resolve distribution dispute with Disney

Charter Communications Chief Executive Chris Winfrey said he has a sense of urgency to resolve a distribution dispute with Walt Disney, in remarks on Thursday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference in San Francisco.

Charter is locked in a distribution battle with Disney as the second-largest US cable company negotiates with the media conglomerate over how much its channels are worth and how to package them.

“I apologize that our consumers have been put in the middle here, but we felt it was worth it,” Winfrey said. “It was the right time and that we had to say 'enough is enough' or else we're going to have to move on to a different model.”

Winfrey said Charter is responding to rising prices for content, limited flexibility in its programming packages, and fees that its cable subscribers pay that end up subsidizing the streaming services.