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7mo ago

DirecTV and Disney End Blackout, Restoring ESPN and Other Channels

The agreement was reached just in time for college football and the Emmy Awards, bringing relief to millions of subscribers after a nearly two-week dispute.

Overview

  • DirecTV and Disney settled their dispute, restoring access to ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned channels for DirecTV's 11 million subscribers.
  • The blackout began on September 1 due to disagreements over carriage fees and programming flexibility, affecting major events like the U.S. Open and college football games.
  • The new deal allows DirecTV to offer Disney's streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, in various packages and a la carte.
  • DirecTV will also be able to provide ESPN's upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service at no extra cost to its subscribers.
  • The agreement comes after DirecTV filed a complaint with the FCC, accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith, and follows a similar dispute between Disney and Spectrum last year.