Disney and DirecTV reach deal that ends blackout of ESPN, ABC and more
After a nail-biting battle for both sides, Disney and DirecTV have called a truce: the companies have announced a tentative agreement on a new deal that will restore ESPN, ABC, FX, Disney Channel and other Disney networks to the DirecTV lineup after an almost two-year battle. week blackout.
Under the new deal, announced on Saturday, September 14, DirecTV will continue broadcasting Disney’s entertainment, sports and news channels, including its own ABC TV stations, the ESPN networks, Disney Channels, Freeform, the FX networks and National Geographic Channels. The companies reached the deal just ahead of a full day of college football on Saturday on ABC and ESPN, and on the eve of the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, which were set to air on ABC on Sunday, September 15.
DirecTV said Disney’s “entire linear slate of networks” is being restored for satellite, DirecTV Stream and U-verse customers “as both parties work to finalize a new, multi-year contract.”
The new agreement gives DirecTV the rights to offer multiple genre-specific options – sports, entertainment, and kids & family – including Disney’s linear networks along with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. In addition, DirecTV will bundle Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ with “select DirecTV packages” under a wholesale agreement, and the pay-TV provider will sell the Disney streamers to customers on an a la carte basis.
DirecTV also has the rights to distribute Disney’s upcoming ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service with an expected launch in 2025 – at no additional cost to DirecTV customers.
In a joint statement, the two companies said: “Through this unique partnership, DirecTV and Disney are offering customers the ability to tailor their video experience through more flexible options. DirecTV and Disney have a long history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DirecTV’s customers. We want to thank all affected viewers for their patience and are pleased to restore Disney’s entire network portfolio in time for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend.”
Their previous agreement expired on September 1, after months of back and forth without resolution. While Disney and DirecTV negotiated the terms of the new deal, DirecTV’s more than 11 million satellite and streaming customers missed a slew of sports programming airing on ESPN and ABC, including college football, the U.S. Open and the September 9 kickoff of this season. Highly rated NFL “Monday Night Football” broadcast with the Jets vs. 49ers. In the first week after the Disney channels went dark, DirecTV announced a price increase that would take effect on October 6, angering customers.
Such transportation disputes have been a recognizable feature of the pay-TV landscape for decades, but the heightened rhetoric in the Disney-DirecTV dispute reflected a near breaking point in an industry that has suffered from rising costs and cord-cutting that have severely eroded its competitive position . customer base.
On Thursday, DirecTV CMO Vince Torres said at a Goldman Sachs investment conference that the company had lost “no intangible number of customers” in the Disney fight, without providing more details. Amid the Disney blackout, DirecTV announced a price increase that will go into effect on October 6, further infuriating customers.
DirecTV had complained that Disney was asking for an exorbitant price increase for its networks, while Disney claimed that DirecTV was not allowing it to create “skinny bundles” of TV channels that would be more price competitive with streaming services. Disney said it had offered DirecTV multiple options for flexible programming packages, including a sports-oriented combination with ABC and ESPN nets.
DirecTV upped the ante and filed a formal complaint with the FCC, alleging that Disney had failed to engage in good faith negotiations, citing the media company’s demand that DirecTV waive legal claims. Disney countered that such agreements are standard (and were actually included in previous renewals with DirecTV), suggesting that DirecTV itself acted in bad faith. Before the Trump-Harris debate on September 10, Disney offered to give DirecTV a temporary feed from ABC, but the operator rejected that, calling it a self-service stunt and arguing that it would “cause customer confusion among those who would briefly see the debate only to lose the channel again shortly afterwards.”
On Saturday, DirecTV celebrated the Disney relaxation on social media with a GIF of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck dancing in a circle and then hugging:
Last summer, Disney was involved in a similar dispute with Charter Communications that resulted in an agreement that gave Charter the rights to offer Disney+ and ESPN+ to select TV subs, available at no additional cost. Additionally, Charter dropped Disney networks, including Freeform and FXX, from its Spectrum TV lineup. Charter has since made other deals to bundle streaming services with cable TV, including for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max and Paramount Global’s Paramount+.
(Pictured above: Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes scrambles with the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the “MNF” game on November 20, 2023)
