DirecTV files complaint against Disney as blackout disrupts major sports and upcoming debate coverage

Disney and DirecTV are currently embroiled in a carriage dispute that is getting more heated. As per a report published by Deadline on September 8, 2024, DirecTV filed a complaint against Disney with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday, accusing the company of “negotiating in bad faith.”

The previous carriage contract between the two companies expired on September 1, 2024. As a result, channels like ABC, ESPN, and FX, among others, are currently not available to the 11.3 million DirecTV subscribers across the USA including traditional satellite, cable, and DirecTV Stream service.

Executives from both parties have charged each other with indulging in unfair practices. Meanwhile, the viewers are met with a black screen, stating that their contract with Disney has expired.

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Disney's networks have gone dark across DirecTV

Since September 1, 2024, channels like ABC and ESPN have been unavailable to DirecTV users. When visiting the affected channels, the consumers have been seeing the following message:

“Our contract with Disney, the provider of this channel, has expired. We appreciate your patience while we negotiate to offer you greater choice, flexibility, and value.”

As a result, DirecTV subscribers —over 11 million in number— are running the risk of not only missing Monday Night Football on September 9 but also the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, hosted by ABC on September 10.

Amidst this, on September 7, 2024, DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. The complaint states:

“...Millions of Americans have already missed early college football games, may well miss the first Monday Night Football game, and, if the impasse lasts, will miss the presidential debate, produced and hosted by ABC.”

As for Disney, it has alleged that DirecTV has created impasses like this during previous negotiations as well. A spokesperson told Deadline on September 8, 2024:

“We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of Monday Night Football.”

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Where do things stand now?

The carriage controversy between the two companies erupted at a time when both parties were reportedly looking forward to settling another deal.

Executives from Disney told Deadline on September 1, 2024, that they were open to offering DirecTV “flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors”. However, they would not entertain agreements that would “undervalue” their “portfolio of television channels and programs.”

DirecTV, in turn, hit back, with Rob Thun, its chief content officer alleging on the same day that Disney was trying to “continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers.”

He further complained that the company made it harder for consumers to select the shows and sports they wanted “at a reasonable price.”

However, a similar case, involving Disney, happened about a year ago. Last year around this time, several of its channels went black for 10 days on Charter’s Spectrum systems. That dispute was finally resolved with an agreement between the two parties involved.

With the rise in the popularity of various streaming services, traditional cable TV operators continue to face losses. Some TV operators have taken to striking deals with the streaming platforms, in a bid to retain their customers. It remains to be seen what DirecTV's next move will be.