Disney and DirecTV Reclaim Rich Carriage Deals, ABC, ESPN and Other Channels in Time for College Football and the Emmys

Disney and DirecTV ended their 13-day carriage deadlock, restoring ABC, ESPN and 14 other networks in time for Saturday's college football game and Sunday night's Emmy telecast.

While the return of linear service will come as a relief to millions of subscribers, other terms of the deal will no doubt draw the attention of the wider media industry as it grapples with the complexities of the streaming age.

The teams have agreed to bring “multiple genre-specific options” to market for slimmer bundles of channels at lower prices, though no specific prices or proposed channel lineup were mentioned in this morning's press release. These new offerings will span sports, entertainment, kids and family, with packages including Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, Disney's linear networks.

Disney's direct-to-consumer streaming services Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ will also be included in select ones.
DirecTV package under a wholesale agreement, and will be available at a à la carte
base

The deal gives DirecTV the rights to distribute Disney's upcoming ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service at no additional cost to DirecTV subscribers. The planned rollout of the ESPN service in mid-2025 is expected to be a major event for the media business as it shapes the new economics of pay-TV.

“Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DirecTV and Disney are empowering consumers to tailor their video experience with more flexible options,” the companies said in a joint statement. “DirecTV and Disney have a long history of connecting consumers to the best in entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment, recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney content and the growing consumer preference for DIRECTV. We want to thank all affected viewers for their patience and are pleased to restore the entire portfolio of Disney's networks for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend.”

Sixteen Disney networks, including ESPN, went dark on the pay-TV provider starting September 1, 11 million plus customers deprived of debut Monday Night FootballUS Open tennis, college football and bachelorette The finale's potential Emmy blackout was extremely awkward for Disney, as it not only rolls over to air the awards show but is poised to dominate the night thanks to the leading contenders. the bear And the shogun.

The fight comes just a year after Disney waged a high-profile battle with a different pay-TV operator. In September 2023, the media giant and Spectrum parent Charter Communications had a 10-day blackout, which ended hours earlier than last season. Monday Night Football The result of the kickoff charter resolution was a new-model deal that eliminated linear distribution for Freeform and a handful of other networks in exchange for the integration and promotion of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ on the spectrum.

DirecTV, which is now a privately held entity owned by AT&T and private equity firm TPG, has a fundamentally different business model than Charter, however. It does not offer broadband, wireless or any other non-video services. Its video services are available via traditional satellite as well as the Internet as a legacy cable system formerly known as U-Verse TV, which stopped accepting new subscribers a few years ago.

In addition to ABC and ESPN, Disney's TV net portfolio includes ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ACC Network, SEC Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, FX, FXX, FX Movie Channel, Freeform, National Geographic and Nat Go Wild. The Burbank-based conglomerate has O&Os in eight top TV markets, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Early in the driving battle, DirecTV CFO Ray Carpenter acknowledged that the dispute would be more “existential” for his company than it would be for a more diversified pay-TV operator. During a conference call with analysts, Carpenter said the “bloated” current package of more than 100 channels will need to be pared down to 10 to 50 channels to be more compatible with viewing habits in the streaming era.