The Walt Disney Company announced Thursday it has formed a long-term distribution agreement with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), an organization representing the advanced telecommunications and information technology interests of 1,500 rural utilities and affiliates in 48 states.

Under the terms of the deal, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative’s TV Everywhere offering, MyTimeTV, will offer programming from Disney and ESPN’s broad portfolio of sports, news and entertainment content, including the full suite of authenticated WATCH products, Longhorn Network, the upcoming SEC Network, and the ABC News/Univision joint venture Fusion.

Services covered by the agreement include: ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.

“This latest long-term renewal agreement allows us to serve NRTC members’ customers in rural markets with enhanced value to their multichannel video subscription,” said David Preschlack, EVP of affiliate sales and marketing for Disney & ESPN Networks Group, “providing quality content and services on more platforms than ever before. We continue to cultivate relationships across a variety of distribution partners that recognize the value of these services that customers have come to expect in today’s digital world.”

Brief Take: A study released today by Parks Associates shows that only 14% of smartphone and tablet owners use those devices to watch TV. A lot of those users reside in rural areas, a phenomenon this deal looks to start changing.

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