DirecTV and DirecTV Stream subscribers will (and won’t) be able to watch tonight’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
While no deal between Disney and DirecTV has been agreed, and ABC News remains unavailable, Disney offered to make the ABC News feed accessible to affected customers for three hours tonight, according to a statement issued to multiple media outlets, including Deadline and Variety.
According to the statement, Disney was making the feed available as the company wants “all Americans to be able to view tonight’s debate at this important moment in our history.”
However, DirecTV has since confirmed the offer was rejected, explaining that
“a limited 3-hour window will cause customer confusion.” DirecTV also says it countered with an offer to return all lost channels through the end of Monday Night Football at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 17, allowing customers to retain access while the two companies continue to work on a deal. However, DirecTV says Disney “flat-out rejected DirecTV’s offer.”
While this means affected customers will be without the ability to watch the event live on ABC News, the debate is widely available to watch across a number of other stations and networks. For example, the debate is due to be simulcast on CBS, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, PBS and NewsNation.
The debate will also be available to watch live through Disney+ and Hulu with an active subscription.
Debate aside, the dispute escalated further over the weekend, when DirecTV filed a complaint with the FCC accusing Disney of failing to negotiate in good faith.
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