A number of Disney-owned channels, including ABC and ESPN, are currently unavailable on DirecTV and DirecTV Stream. As this is the result of a dispute, it remains unclear when the channels will return, if ever.
It had become clear over the past week that the two companies were struggling to agree a new distribution deal. By the start of the weekend, Disney began informing DirecTV and DirecTV Stream viewers of the possibility that they could lose access to the channels.
With no deal having been agreed, that possibility has now become a reality, resulting in the removal of the channels. According to DirecTV, the channels were removed due to Disney’s “anti-consumer approach” that includes forcing customers “to pay for channels they don’t watch.”
“Exactly one year after a major outage with another subscription television service, Disney is again taking an anti-consumer approach, demanding that customers from DirecTV and other TV distributors be forced to pay for channels they don’t watch, and demanding DirecTV customers pay for access to Disney-owned streaming services they either aren’t interested in or may already possess,” DirecTV said.
The dispute DirecTV is referring to here was with Charter. This time last year, Disney programming was pulled from Spectrum and remained unavailable until a new deal was agreed later in September.
That deal actually resulted in some notable changes, including the bundling of Disney+ and ESPN+. Based on the information provided by DirecTV, it looks like it was seeking a very similar type of agreement. Specifically, “new, multi-billion-dollar licensing agreements for a broad range of programming, including local ABC broadcast stations and affiliates, streaming content like Hulu, and Disney’s ESPN suite of channels.”
However, and also according to DirecTV, Disney wanted DirecTV customers to pay for access to those streaming services. Something DirecTV appears to be suggesting it was unwilling to agree to.
In its own statement, Disney said the channels were dropped after DirecTV declined “a fair, marketplace-based agreement.”
“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. We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming,” said Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairmen, Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN.
Regardless of the reason for the dispute ending up here, DirecTV and DirecTV customers may now need to consider alternative ways to access ABC and ESPN.
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