DirecTV drops Disney channel, ESPN, ABC and more in contract dispute

Disney has revoked DirecTV’s access to ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned networks as the two companies failed to reach a new distribution deal on Sunday. The move leaves over 11 million subscribers without access while Disney and DirecTV continue to try and work out a deal. Such outages are not uncommon, with The CW having recently had a similar sparring match with DirecTV. AMC also had a lengthy standoff with the satellite provider in 2014, as The Walking Dead was at the height of its popularity. The conflicts have only become more common as content providers like Disney have created their own streaming platforms, making them less reliant on third-party distributors like cable and satellite providers.

CNN, who first reported the story, got a comment from both sides:
“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV, said in a statement. “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.”

“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,” Disney Entertainment chiefs Dana Walden, Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “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 urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”

The move comes at the start of the college football season, which could be a serious numbers problem for ABC, ESPN, and DirecTV. Last year, Disney averted a similar outage with cable provider Charter just before the first Monday Night Football was set to air on ABC.

According to the CNN report, Disney is claiming DirecTV wants “unreasonable” discounts and insists the rates they’re asking are in line with what they perceive to be the value of their portfolio. DirecTV accuses Disney of forcing prices up while simultaneously moving a lot of its best product to Disney+ and withholding it from cable and satellite distributors altogether. Comic Book