Disney Channels Pulled From DIRECTV Amid Dispute Over Contract Terms
Disney is bullying DIRECTV.
The quick backstory is that Fubo recently filed a lawsuit against Disney, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery for violating antitrust laws with its joint venture in the new Venu Sports sports streaming service. In August, a judge blocked Venu Sports from launching after believing Fubo would succeed in proving the violation.
As you might imagine, Disney is not handling someone telling them “no” very well. So, when DIRECTV refused to have Disney’s back by waiving all claims that it didn’t engage in anti-competitive behavior, a new licensing agreement wasn’t reached. As of September 1, 2024, Disney took its channels away from DIRECTV services.
How does the DIRECTV and Disney dispute affect subscribers?
DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and U-verse customers can no longer access ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, FX, Disney Channel, and more. When will they come back? Whenever DIRECTV bows down to its bully and says “uncle.”
This is especially bad timing because of sports. Tennis fans who subscribe to DIRECTV services can’t watch U.S. Open matches. It’s also Week 1 of the NFL season, and DIRECTV users must find another way to catch Monday Night Football. The same goes for watching college football games airing on ESPN channels.
You might have to go to a neighbor’s house to watch any MNF matchup on ESPN. But in the meantime, you can snag ESPN+ to stream all MNF games airing on ABC, as well as select NCAA football games and U.S. Open tennis matches.
Can DIRECTV customers receive a refund for the erasure of Disney channels?
Now that DIRECTV subscribers are missing a handful of promised channels in their lineups, DIRECTV is graciously refunding for the inconvenience.
To qualify for a $20 credit, go to directv.com/tvpromise/. Enter your TV service and zip code there, and you will be taken to “Explore Bill Credits.” Confirm your email address. Then, you can expect to receive the credit in up to two billing cycles.
DIRECTV mentions a one-time credit in hopes that the company can resolve the issue in due time, but also mentions, “Chances are your favorite [NFL] team won’t play Monday night until later in the season after we’ve had plenty of time to come to a new agreement.” I don’t know, DIRECTV. There are a lot of Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills fans out there (Week 2 and 3).
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Other asks by Disney in the DIRECTV licensing agreement
According to a statement from DIRECTV, Disney demanded that DIRECTV side with Disney in the Fubo lawsuit just hours before the new licensing agreement deadline. This also included the fact that DIRECTV must agree that future legal disputes should be handled in California instead of New York. Why such a unique demand? Because the judge who blocked Disney’s new sports streaming service, Venu Sports, from launching practices in The Big Apple.
Not only was Disney accused of violating antitrust laws by Fubo, but DIRECTV also accused Disney of taking “anti-consumer” approaches. In this new licensing agreement, DIRECTV advocated for customers to be able to pick and choose their channels, but Disney believes that deal would disrespect the value of its networks and demands that they do the opposite and bundle services instead—anything for Disney to profit even more than it already has.
