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Disney Says It Offered DirecTV Genre-Based Bundles In Carriage Dispute
Disney Says It Offered DirecTV Genre-Based Bundles In Carriage Dispute-May 2024
May 22, 2025 11:29 PM

Disney is striking back at DirecTV following the satellite TV providers call with media and analysts Tuesday, in which the company outlined its position in the carriage dispute.

As a result of the dispute, many of Disney channels including ABC and ESPN went dark for millions of DirecTV customers on Sept. 1, amid the U.S. Open and ahead of the NFL season.

DirecTV CFO Ray Carpenter said Tuesday that the company is asking for more flexible options for its customers, including skinny, genre-based packages, where customers can choose the kind of content they want to pay for, bundled around genres including news, family and sports, with different price tiers attached to those options. During the call, Carpenter suggested Disney had been resistant to the idea. Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairmen, Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN, said that was not the case.

DirecTV continues to misrepresent the facts around our ongoing negotiations. 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, the statement reads.

Disney has offered a number of bespoke packages to DirecTV, according to a Disney spokesperson, including a sports-centric offering, with ESPN and ABC, an entertainment-based option and linear offerings that are paired with Disneys direct-to-consumer subscription services.

The spokesperson added that the rates proposed by Disney are in line with other distribution providers in the marketplace and that Disney has also offered options to connect the DirecTV platforms to Disneys streaming services.

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