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3 weeks ago
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Disney and DirecTV announced an end to their 13-day carriage impasse, restoring ABC, ESPN and 14 other networks in time for college football and the Emmys.
While the restoration of linear service will come as a relief to millions of subscribers, the other terms of the agreement will no doubt catch the attention of many other companies contending with the complexities of the streaming era.
The parties agreed to bring to market “multiple genre-specific options,” meaning slimmer bundles of channels at lower price points. Those new offerings will span sports, entertainment, kids & family, with packages including Disney’s linear networks along with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming services Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ will also be included in select
DirecTV packages under a wholesale agreement, and also to be made available on an a la carte
basis.
The agreement also gives DirecTV rights to distribute Disney’s upcoming ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service upon its launch at no additional cost to DirecTV customers. The planned launch of the ESPN service in mid-2025 is expected to be a major event for the media business as it sorts out the new economics of pay-TV.
“Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DirecTV and Disney are giving customers the ability to tailor their video experience through more flexible options. DirecTV and Disney have a long-standing history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DIRECTV’s customers. We’d like to thank all affected viewers for their patience and are pleased to restore Disney’s entire portfolio of networks in time for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend.”
Sixteen Disney networks, including ESPN, have been dark on the pay-TV provider since September 1, depriving 11 million-plus subscribers of U.S. Open tennis, college football and The Bachelorette finale. Programming now at risk of being unavailable includes Tuesday’s presidential debate and Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, though the debate will air on C-SPAN and other networks available on DirecTV. Recognizing the clout of the NFL, DirecTV last Friday offered subscribers discounts if they sign up for Sling TV or Fubo, and Disney also has lowered the price of Hulu + Live TV and promoted other pay-TV avenues for consumers.
The fight came a year after Disney battled another major pay-TV operator. In September 2023, the media giant and Spectrum parent Charter Communications had a 10-day standoff, which ended just hours before last season’s Monday Night Football kickoff. The result of the Charter resolution was a new-model agreement that dropped linear distribution for Freeform and a handful of other networks in exchange for a boost for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ on Spectrum systems.
DirecTV, which is now a privately held entity owned by AT&T and private equity firm TPG, has a fundamentally different business model than Charter’s. It doesn’t offer broadband, wireless or any other non-video services, which it makes available via satellite and the internet as well as a legacy cable system.
Along with ABC and ESPN, Disney’s portfolio of TV nets includes ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ACC Network, SEC Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, FX, FXX, FX Movie Channel, Freeform, National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild. The Burbank-based conglom also has O&Os in eight top TV markets including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Early on in the fight, DirecTV CFO Ray Carpenter conceded that the dispute is more “existential” for his company than it would be for a more diversified pay-TV operator. During a conference call with analysts, Carpenter said the “bloated” current package of 100-plus channels needs to slim down to between 10 and 50 channels in order to be more consistent with viewing habits in the streaming era.
