Disney and DirecTV Reach Deal, Ending ESPN Blackout
Disney and DirecTV Reach Deal, Ending ESPN Blackout - The New York Times
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Disney and DirecTV Reach Deal, Ending ESPN Blackout
The agreement ends a two-week dispute that had prevented many of DirecTV’s 11 million customers from watching programs like Monday Night Football.
Disney and DirecTV said on Saturday that they had reached an agreement that will allow channels like ESPN and ABC to return to the satellite TV service.
The deal ends a two-week blackout that prevented many of DirecTV’s 11 million customers from viewing programs like Monday Night Football and the U.S. Open tennis tournament as the two sides haggled over terms of a new distribution agreement.
The pact was struck in time to avoid alienating viewers who wanted to watch college football on ESPN and the Emmys, which will air on Sunday on Disney’s ABC broadcast network.
“DirecTV and Disney have a longstanding history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment,” the companies said in a joint statement. “And this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DirecTV’s customers.”
One of the big sticking points in negotiations over the last week was whether Disney — which spends lavishly on shows for the Disney+ streaming service — could continue to charge DirecTV high rates for traditional TV content. DirecTV argued that Disney was shortchanging its traditional TV customers by expecting the same fees for what is effectively less content.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Disney’s streaming services, including Disney+, will be offered to DirecTV customers in select packages. That compromise has now become common in cable deals, with similar agreements reached by the cable giant Charter with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The dispute between DirecTV and Disney underscored the harsh economic realities experienced by satellite TV networks, which do not have products like broadband internet that make their services harder to abandon.
The deal will also allow DirecTV customers to watch the Disney Channel, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. Though the contract is still being finalized, service was restored on Saturday morning to DirecTV customers.
DirecTV’s agreement with Disney comes amid reports that the company is working on a much larger deal that would transform the company. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that DirecTV is negotiating a merger with Dish, another TV provider, in a deal that would create a satellite TV giant.
Benjamin Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact Ben securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or email at benjamin.mullin@nytimes.com. More about Benjamin Mullin
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