Disney Channels Pulled from DIRECTV

DIRECTV subscribers have lost access to local ABC stations, ESPN and other services from The Walt Disney Company amid a carriage spat.

DIRECTV and Disney have been unable to agree to the terms of a new licensing agreement. The pay-TV provider has said Disney is employing an “anti-consumer approach, demanding that customers from DIRECTV and other TV distributors be forced to pay for channels they don’t watch, and demanding DIRECTV customers pay for access to Disney-owned streaming services they either aren’t interested in or may already possess.”

DIRECTV also maintains that Disney wants it to waive all claims of anti-competitive behavior as part of a new deal. Disney also wants any future lawsuits resulting from DIRECTV licensing agreements to be adjudicated in California. “Disney’s last-minute demands to foreclose upon any legal accountability for its growing pattern of anti-competitive actions should be troubling to all pro-consumer advocacy groups, regulators, and Department of Justice attorneys alike,” DIRECTV said.

“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DIRECTV. “Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions. They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers – making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price.”

“Consumer frustration is at an all-time high as Disney shifts its best producers, most innovative shows, top teams, conferences and entire leagues to their direct-to-consumer services while making customers pay more than once for the same programming on multiple Disney platforms,” Thun continued. “Disney’s only magic is forcing prices to go up while simultaneously making its content disappear.”

DIRECTV maintains that only 40 percent of its customers watch Disney’s sports coverage—running across seven channels—for at least three hours a month. The same proportion watch Disney’s general entertainment channels for a combined three hours or more on average per month. Meanwhile, just 10 percent are watching Disney’s kids and family services. “Additionally, Disney is making consumers pay multiple times for the same programming by shutting off pay TV customers’ access to Disney-owned network apps like Watch ABC, DisneyNow, Freeform, FXNow, and Nat Geo TV, which was previously a benefit of a cable, satellite or IPTV subscription. Disney is herding consumers away from its network websites and apps to generate far greater subscription revenue for Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ and future streaming aspirations. Disney then moves marquee content from one service to another, creating incentives to bundle Disney-specific services, raises individual direct-to-consumer prices, inserts advertising and reduces the number of people or devices able to share access.”

DIRECTV also maintains that Disney is prioritizing streaming for its marquee programming, while filling its ABC lineup “with cheap-to-produce primetime gameshows, unscripted spinoffs old former ABC hits, or simulcast content from other Disney-owned channels like ESPN while demanding ever-increasing prices from distributors and ultimately consumers.”

DIRECTV maintains it is seeking a deal that will “return value to pay-TV consumers.” In an open later, Thun outlined the need for flexible agreements between pay-TV providers and channel owners.

Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairmen at Disney Entertainment, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro issued a statement noting: “DIRECTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we head into the final week of the US Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season. While we’re open to offering DIRECTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs. We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DIRECTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”