DirecTV has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission accusing Disney of not negotiating in good faith. The complaint alleges that Disney is demanding that DirecTV waive any legal claims related to Disney’s past, current, or future anticompetitive actions in order to reach a distribution deal. The negotiations between the two companies have stalled due to Disney’s insistence on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal judge previously ruled to be unlawful and bad for consumers in the context of the ‘Venu’ joint venture.
A federal judge recently blocked the launch of Venu Sports, a joint sports streaming venture involving Disney, Fox Corporation, and Warner Brothers Discovery. This decision came after a lawsuit was filed by Fubo, a sports streaming service, against the media giants. The blackout of Disney-owned content, including ABC stations, ESPN, and other cable networks, has affected over 11 million DirecTV subscribers. This blackout occurred just before important events such as the presidential debate on ABC, the final rounds of the US Open tennis tournament, and the start of the NFL season.
Disney has urged DirecTV to prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would restore access to Disney’s upcoming lineup of sports, news, and entertainment programming. A deal needs to be reached in order for DirecTV subscribers to be able to watch ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” as the rights to broadcast the games are owned by ESPN. Subscribers in major media markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and San Francisco, as well as smaller markets like Fresno, California, and Raleigh, North Carolina, have been affected by the blackout of Disney-owned content.
The blackout also includes a variety of Disney-owned channels such as ESPN’s suite of channels, the Disney Channel, Disney Jr., FX, and National Geographic. The opening game for “Monday Night Football” that DirecTV subscribers will miss features the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. In 2023, a “Monday Night Football” game between the Buffalo Bills and the Jets drew a large audience of 22.64 million viewers, marking its biggest audience during the ESPN era, which began in 2006. Despite the blackout affecting millions of subscribers, negotiations between DirecTV and Disney are ongoing in an effort to restore access to Disney’s content.
DirecTV continues to negotiate with Disney in order to reach a distribution deal that would allow subscribers to have access to Disney’s content once again. The blackout has caused disruptions for millions of DirecTV customers who are unable to watch Disney-owned programming, including important events like sports games and popular TV shows. Disney has refuted the allegations made by DirecTV, and the two companies are working towards resolving their differences in order to bring an end to the blackout and restore access to Disney’s entertainment offerings for DirecTV subscribers.
