It looks like negotiations between DIRECTV and the Walt Disney Company have failed, as DIRECTV has just announced that its customers will no longer have access to many Disney channels.
According to a statement released earlier this month, Disney has suspended its programming despite DIRECTV's attempts to reach new licensing agreements for a wide range of programming, including local ABC stations and affiliates, streaming content such as Hulu, and Disney's ESPN channel package.
DIRECTV claims that “Disney once again takes an anti-consumer approach”, asks DIRECTV customers to pay for channels they don’t watch. DIRECTV also implies that its customers are being forced to pay for access to Disney-owned streaming services that they either aren’t interested in or may already own.
According to the streaming service, Disney wanted to demand that DIRECTV drop all allegations that Disney's behavior was anti-competitive in order to reach a new licensing agreement or expand access to its programming.
Disney also required DIRECTV to agree that any future lawsuits arising from the licensing agreements between DIRECTV and Disney would be heard in California rather than New York because, as Disney's counsel put it, SDNY Judge Garnett “did not understand the issue” when he issued a preliminary injunction against Disney's Venu Sports.
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discover announced earlier this year that they would launch a pure sports streaming service called Venu Sports, but the launch of the sports service was blocked after Judge Garnett granted a preliminary injunction sought by Fubo.
DIRECTV says that on average only two-thirds of its customers watch three hours or more of the full lineup of 16 Disney channels, which include local ABC stations. But the expiring contract forces the vast majority of DIRECTV customers to pay for the full lineup of Disney channels, for which at least a third have shown little interest.