Disney overtakes Comcast's D.C. airwaves

**TrendyMagic** · 06-18-2004, 12:50 AM

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By Frank Ahrens | The Washington Post
Posted June 17, 2004

Cable giant Comcast Corp. spent much of the first half of this year trying to buy the Walt Disney Co., a move the entertainment giant rebuffed.

Earlier this week, however, it looked as though Disney had taken over Comcast for many Washington, D.C., Comcast subscribers.

On Monday night between about 8:30 and 11:30, many of Comcast's digital-cable subscribers in Washington were shown nothing but the Disney Channel on all of the company's channels. The clicker was useless for about an hour solid and then several times thereafter for several minutes each time.

Some may have thought Disney chief executive Michael Eisner was exacting his revenge on Comcast. But the programming glitch actually was caused by a malfunctioning piece of equipment at Comcast's Washington technical headquarters.

The Disney Channel later expressed tongue-in-cheek delight with the impromptu schedule change.

"As a result of the great programming, we're used to rapid growth with Disney Channel, but this exceeds even our expectations," said Patti McTeague, a Disney Channel spokeswoman.