The ongoing dispute between DirecTV and Disney over a new carriage deal has intensified, with both parties accusing each other of unfair practices. DirecTV took the issue to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), filing a complaint that claims Disney has not been negotiating in good faith.
As a result, Disney channels like ESPN and ABC remain blacked out, leaving viewers unable to watch key sporting events, including the final week of the U.S. Open tennis tournament and most college football games, Associated Press reported.
Disney and DirecTV failed to sign a new distribution deal before their contract expired on Sept. 1, resulting in the removal of popular Disney-owned channels such as ESPN, ABC, FX, SEC Network, ACC Network, Disney Channel, National Geographic, and Freeform from DirecTV's lineup.
If the dispute persists, DirecTV viewers may also miss upcoming events, including the highly-anticipated "Monday Night Football" game between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 9 and a presidential debate on Sept. 10, hosted by ABC News, the AP report said. The game will be broadcast by ABC and ESPN.
DirecTV, with 11.3 million subscribers, is the third-largest pay TV provider in the United States. ABC-owned stations in cities like Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Raleigh, North Carolina, are currently unavailable on DirecTV.
In addition to all the ESPN network channels and ABC-owned stations, several Disney-branded channels, including Freeform, FX, and National Geographic, are also not accessible right now.
In its complaint, DirecTV has accused Disney of engaging in anticompetitive practices and claims that the latter has put across unfair and illegal demands on the renewal of their distribution agreement, including requests for bundling and penetration requirements that a federal court recently deemed unlawful.
DirecTV has expressed its desire to offer consumers the choice of more affordable, "skinnier" bundles of programming, instead of the larger bundles that may include a range of content that not all viewers find appealing.
"Along with these anticompetitive demands, Disney has also insisted that DirecTV agree to a 'clean slate' provision and a covenant not to sue, both of which are intended to prevent DirecTV from taking legal action regarding Disney's anticompetitive demands, which would include filing good faith complaints at the Commission. Not three months ago, however, the Media Bureau made clear that such a demand itself constitutes bad faith," DirecTV said in a statement.
Disney, on its part, claims to be working to find a solution so that DirecTV may once again carry its networks, including ESPN, ABC, and FX.
"We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible. We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of 'Monday Night Football," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
