Several Disney channels, including ABC and ESPN, are not available on DirecTV, and users of the distributing platform are wondering why. On Sunday, September 1, it was discovered that networks that come under the Disney umbrella couldn’t be accessed on DirecTV. Since then, this has become a major concern for users, and updates about the apparent dispute have come out. Here is everything we have learned about why Disney removed its ESPN, ABC, and other channels from DirecTV.
Why did Disney remove ESPN and ABC channels from DirecTV?
Disney removed ESPN, ABC stations, and other cable channels from DirecTV around 7:20 p.m. ET on Sunday after the two companies disagreed on a licensing deal. This led to over 11 million DirecTV subscribers losing their access to various Disney channels. At the crux of the dispute are Disney’s decision to increase the fees for their popular channels and DirecTV’s insistence on flexibility in how it can offer those channels to its subscribers so they don’t have to pay for the ones they don’t want.
In a joint statement, Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro underscored their company’s position.
“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,” the statement read.
“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,” it continued. “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 statement further read.
DirecTV’s Chief Content Officer Rob Thun accused Disney of “refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system.” According to Thun, the other company “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.” (via CNN)
Could ABC and ESPN return on DirecTV?
It seems that Disney channels might come back to DirecTV if the two companies reach a settlement.
A year ago, Disney removed its networks from Spectrum for nearly two weeks before signing a new agreement with Spectrum’s parent company Charter. So, if DirecTV and Disney come to an agreement, these channels can return to DirecTV.
