
After offering the online
sports hub in two large markets, Charter Communications is making ESPN360.com available to all of its broadband customers.
Charter serves 2.96 million broadband homes (as of June 30).
Customers in Los Angeles and St. Louis already had access to the site.
ESPN360's total distribution is now over 50 million homes.
Charter, the country's fourth-largest cable operator, joins
Comcast and Cox as top five cable companies offering the service across their entire footprint. Time Warner Cable and Cablevision continue to resist.
ESPN360.com is streaming hundreds of live
college football games this fall, which could have particular appeal to Charter customers in Texas and the Southeast.
The Charter agreement is in line with ESPN's efforts to allow operators to
shift the ESPN Classic network to a sports tier, in exchange for offering ESPN360 and providing wider distribution for the ESPNU and ESPN Deportes networks.
ESPN receives TV-type affiliate fees
from operators for rights to make 360 available, reportedly charging a sub fee of 5 cents per month. ESPN says 360 carries 3,500 live sports events a year, from NBA playoff games to overseas cricket.
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