DirecTV stated Saturday that it has reached an agreement with Walt Disney Co. to restore ESPN and ABC-owned stations to its service following a nearly two-week dispute that had blacked out the networks for millions of consumers in the United States.
The standoff ended just in time for sports lovers to see ESPN’s college football schedule on DirecTV. It will also assure that ABC’s Emmy Awards telecast on Sunday night is available in more big locations where DirecTV subscribers pay for the service.
ESPN And Other Channels Return To DirecTV With A New Disney Deal After A Nearly 2-Week Blackout
Since September 1, ABC has been unavailable on DirecTV in various locations where the channel is owned by Disney. They were located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno, California, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Raleigh, North Carolina.
During Labour Day weekend, DirecTV’s 11 million subscribers were abruptly cut off from ESPN, ABC-owned stations, and other Disney-owned channels such as FX and National Geographic due to a dispute over carriage rates and programming flexibility.
Some viewers were watching the fourth round of the United States Open tennis event when ESPN went dark, while others were preparing to watch a college football game between LSU and Southern California.
The standoff also prevented DirecTV from broadcasting the NFL’s Monday Night Football opener.
The financial terms of Disney’s new arrangement with DirecTV were not disclosed as part of Saturday’s announcement. According to the partnership announcement, DirecTV would pay Disney based on “market-based” pricing.
The agreement also allows DirecTV to sell Disney’s video streaming services both a la carte and in its own bundled bundles. DirecTV acquired the ability to incorporate ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service at an additional cost to its subscribers once it launches.
ESPN And Other Channels Return To DirecTV With A New Disney Deal After A Nearly 2-Week Blackout
The agreement occurred a few days after escalating tensions prompted DirecTV to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, accusing Disney of bad-faith negotiations.
This is the second year in a row that Disney’s wrangling for programming rights has caused its networks to go dark on a pay-TV provider. Last year, Disney pulled its channels from Spectrum, the second largest cable-TV provider in the United States, for 12 days before settling the disagreement shortly before ESPN’s Monday Night Football start.
SOURCE | AP
