WBD Says Other Live TV Services Now Want to Offer Their Own Day, Week, and Weekend Plans

Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit over the launch of Day, Week, and Weekend Pass plans on Sling TV. According to the filing, the arrival of Sling’s new plans has resulted in other live TV providers looking to offer their own short-term live TV packages.

The main purpose of the lawsuit is to attempt to get Dish and Sling to remove the short-term plans, with Warner Bros. Discovery arguing (and Disney in a separate lawsuit) that they are bad for business.

Specifically, the fact that they offer an alternative to a continuous subscription and recurring payment.

As part of the filing, Warner Bros. Discovery discussed what it perceives as the long-term ramifications of allowing Sling’s Day, Week, and Weekend plans to remain available to consumers.

“The Passes also threaten to disrupt Programmers’ relationships with their other distribution partners, who may now wish to distribute the Programming on a non-subscription basis too,” WBD said in a court filing.

To further emphasize this point, Warner Bros. Discovery says that some live TV providers are already seeking to offer their own competing short-term solutions.

“Indeed, many of Programmers’ other distribution partners have already contacted Programmers about seeing the ability to offer similar short-term “passes,” the filing added.

While Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t disclose which live TV distributors have asked about offering their own short-term subscriptions, it is not surprising that they are now asking these questions.

The new Day, Week, and Weekend Pass plans not only make Sling a significantly cheaper option than other services, but they are likely to greatly appeal to consumers, and especially sports fans.

With the ability to limit access to just one day, and for as low as $4.99, consumers now have the ability to pay for a live TV plan just long enough to watch a live sports or other live event, or binge-watch an entire series after a season has fully aired.

With such an ability available, it would be understandable that competing live TV providers would like to level the playing field by offering their own short-term packages.