DirecTV Deal Restores ESPN, Disney-Owned Channels

UPDATE Sep 14, 2024 12:00 PM CDT

DirecTV announced Saturday that it reached an agreement to turn ESPN and Disney-owned channels, including several ABC stations, back on in time for the weekend's college football games and Emmy Awards. The channels had been pulled on Sept. 1, and the satellite TV company filed a complaint this week with the Federal Communications Commission charging Disney with negotiating in bad faith. The deal calls for DirecTV to be able to offer customers Disney's video streaming services a la carte, the AP reports, as well as in its own bundled packages. DirecTV also will be able to include ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service to subscribers, at an additional cost, when it becomes available.

Sep 3, 2024 2:12 PM CDT

It's a safe bet that some DirecTV subscribers who double as sports fans were in a foul mood on Sunday when they sat down to watch US Open tennis or maybe the LSU-USC football game. Both were suddenly off limits thanks to a distribution dispute between the satellite TV company and Disney, reports CNET. Disney pulled ESPN from DirecTV on Sunday—the first of the month—along with other channels it owns such as Hulu, ABC, FX, and Freeform, per Axios.

Typically, such "carriage" disputes are resolved in a few days, though the AP notes that one between Disney and Spectrum last year went on for 12 days. If a similar impasse happens this time, DirecTV subscribers could miss not only the first Monday Night Football game of the year on ESPN Sept. 9 but the presidential debate the following night on ABC. The talk so far is relatively nasty:

• DirecTV: "They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers—making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price." said DirecTV chief content officer Rob Thun. On Tuesday, CFO Ray Carpenter told reporters it was "not a run-of-the-mill dispute" as the company pushes for more flexible packages to offer people, per the Hollywood Reporter.
• Disney: "While we're open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we've extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs," says a joint statement from Disney and ESPN execs.

In the meantime, DirecTV is offering a $20 credit to its 11 million subscribers, though they have to opt-in to get it, notes CNN. (More DirecTV stories.)