Disney and DirecTV’s Battle Leaves Millions Without ESPN
By Movieguide® Contributor
The battle between Disney and DirecTV continues, and Disney’s sports streaming joint venture with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery is only adding fuel to the fire.
“DirecTV’s current public battle with Disney has led to 11 million DirecTV customers losing access to ESPN in the middle of the U.S. Open tennis tournament and a week before the New York Jets are scheduled to meet the San Francisco 49ers on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL,” Reuters reported of the squabble that arose over the rates DirecTV would pay Disney for its content.
Meanwhile, Venu Sports — Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery’s joint venture — was set to launch last month. The launch was blocked after Fubo sued the companies, claiming that allowing Venu Sports would create an unlevel “playing field.”
Movieguide® reported:
Per ESPN, “United States District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York said in her 69-page ruling Friday that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws and that Fubo and consumers would ‘face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.’”
Venu Sports was set to aggregate 15 linear TV networks, offering “cord-cutters access to a host of sporting events drawing from each of the media companies’ portfolios, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, tennis, soccer, golf, NASCAR races and UFC matches.
“This is not a run-of-the-mill dispute. This is not the kind where people are haggling over percentage points on the rates,” DirecTV Chief Financial Officer Ray Carpenter said. “This is really about changing the model in a way that gives everyone confidence that the industry can survive.”
Without some major changes, Rob Thun, DirecTV’s chief content officer, is doubtful about the current system’s long-term profitability.
“Pay TV subscribers have been declining because of our collective failure to evolve to meet consumer preferences, not due to external forces,” he said. “Without fundamental change, costs will continue to soar, consumer satisfaction will erode, and the entire ecosystem will suffer.”
Therefore, “DirecTV is demanding Disney give it the flexibility to offer smaller packages, some without pricey sports channels to slash the cost it has to pay Disney and how much consumers need to pay for its TV packages,” Reuters noted.
“DirecTV continues to misrepresent the facts around our ongoing negotiations,” a statement from Disney Entertainment chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro responds. “Our priority is to reach a marketplace deal that serves the needs of DirecTV and their customers while also recognizing the value of our top-quality content and the significant investment required to create and acquire it. We believe there is a path to a fair and flexible agreement that strikes this critical balance and works for all sides, especially the consumer.”
