The bitterness between DirecTV and Disney in the contract dispute is coming to a head as the blocking of Disney-owned networks on DirecTV will almost certainly enter its second week.
On Saturday, DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, claiming Disney did not negotiate in good faith. DirecTV claimed Disney violated the FCC’s good faith requirements by making each licensing agreement contingent on DirecTV waiving all legal claims related to Disney’s “anticompetitive acts,” including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration requirements.
Disney and DirecTV were unable to reach an agreement before their previous distribution agreement expired on Sept. 1, resulting in ESPN, ABC, FX, SEC Network, ACC Network, Disney Channel, NatGeo, Freeform and the rest of the Disney networks being removed from DirecTV’s lineup. The companies are still far apart on resolving the dispute, while ESPN and ABC offer a jam-packed weekend of sports, including college football and the 2024 U.S. Open tennis finals. Additionally, ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” returns Sept. 9, featuring a New York Jets game against the San Francisco 49ers, and ABC News will host the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump debate on Sept. 10.
In a statement to diversity In response to DirecTV’s complaint to the FCC, a Disney spokesperson said, “We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible. We urge DirecTV to stop creating distractions and instead put its customers first by entering into a deal that allows their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of ‘Monday Night Football.'”
DirecTV’s complaint states, in part: “Negotiations have stalled because of Disney’s insistence on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal district judge in New York recently found to be unlawful, anticompetitive and ‘bad for consumers’ in connection with the ‘Venu’ joint venture. Disney seeks to force DirecTV to offer a ‘fat package’ of less desirable Disney programming – while itself offering cheaper, ‘stripped down’ programming packages that consumers want. The Commission has never considered a good faith complaint under these circumstances, and DirecTV may seek to file one in the future with respect to Disney’s conduct.”
The complaint continues: “In addition to these anti-competitive demands, Disney has also insisted that DirecTV agree to a ‘no action’ and ‘no lawsuit’ clause. Both are designed to prevent DirecTV from taking legal action against Disney’s anti-competitive demands, including filing good faith claims with the Commission. Less than three months ago, however, the Media Bureau clarified that such a demand himself constitutes conduct in bad faith.”
SEE ALSO: DirecTV tells customers it will raise prices next month while ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels drop.
DirecTV blames Disney for the deadlock in negotiations. More than 11 million of the channel’s customers have already “missed the first college football games” and could also “miss the first Monday Night Football game and, if the deadlock continues, the presidential debate produced and moderated by ABC.”
Disney addresses DirecTV’s argument that the Mouse House is demanding a waiver of legal claims from the pay-TV provider, saying that such mutual waivers of claims are common practice after licensing agreements are negotiated and agreed to by the parties. In fact, according to Disney, the media company has entered into “clean slate” agreements with DirecTV on each previous renewal – and so Disney is implying that it is DirecTV that is not engaging in good faith negotiations.
The suspension means that subscribers to DirecTV’s satellite service will no longer have access to Disney-owned local ABC stations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Fresno, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition, subscribers to DirecTV’s streaming services in the U.S. will no longer have access to non-ABC-owned ABC affiliate stations.
In a particularly unfortunate move, DirecTV informed its subscribers last week of price increases that will take effect on October 6 for all satellite TV and streaming plans.
DirecTV hopes to minimize subscription cancellations during the lockdown by offering customers a one-time $20 credit for the loss of Disney networks, as well as a $30 credit for its Sling or Fubo streaming packages (which include ESPN’s network package).
(Pictured above: New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers during the September 11, 2023 game against the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football” on ESPN.)
