The impasse between DirecTV and Disney over a new carriage agreement has become more heated as it entered its second week. DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday night accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith. Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC-owned stations in nine markets, have been off DirecTV since the evening of Sept.
1. That meant DirecTV customers were blacked out from viewing most college football games and the final week of the U.S.
Open tennis tournament, including the women's and men's finals. DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.
ABC and ESPN will have the “Monday Night Football” opener between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. ABC will also produce and carry a presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday in Philadelphia. ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh, North Carolina, are off DirecTV.
Besides all ESPN network channels and ABC-owned stations, Disney-branded channels Freeform, FX and National Geographic channel are dark. DirecTV says in its 10-page complaint that Disney is violating the FCC's good faith mandates by asking it to waive any legal claims on any anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands. DirecTV has asked Disney for the op.