A short but tense distribution dispute between Disney and DirecTV came to an end Saturday after the two sides agreed to a new deal that will restore Disney-owned channels, including ABC, ESPN and FX, to the satellite TV provider.
DirecTV stopped airing Disney-owned channels on September 1, denying sports fans the ability to watch NFL games on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” and US Open tennis on ABC. More than 11 million subscribers had lost access to the Disney stations during the dispute.
“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,” the companies said in a joint statement.
The companies said the distribution deal will include new options for customers, including new packages that include the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ streaming services. DirecTV will also be able to distribute the forthcoming ESPN standalone streaming service at no extra cost to DirecTV customers.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we negotiated this challenging but vital agreement, which now provides them more flexibility and choice within a seamless entertainment experience.”
Many distribution disputes can get ugly, but this one was particularly vicious. Last week, DirecTV filed a complaint Saturday with the Federal Communications Commission alleging Disney did not negotiate in good faith.
DirecTV subscribers were denied coverage of the first “Monday Night Football” game of the season between the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers, two teams in big markets that were blacked out from ESPN. To persuade customers to stay, DirecTV struck deals with Sling, owned by rival satellite provider Dish Network, and Fubo to offer its customers credits and discounts to sign up for competing streaming services so people could watch the game.
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