DirecTV has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission claiming that Disney has not negotiated in good faith after pulling programming from DirecTV earlier this month.
The complaint was filed as millions of NFL fans could potentially be unable to watch Monday Night Football through DirecTV on Monday.
DirecTV says that negotiations have reached an impasse as it claims that Disney is forcing DirecTV to include less desirable programming along with its main channels, such as ESPN, Disney Channel and FX. Also, local ABC stations in owned-and-operated markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are blacked out.
What upsets DirecTV is that Disney is the majority owner of Venu, which was planning to launch a streaming sports venture in conjunction with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery later this fall. That agreement would have given non-cable customers the ability to watch live sports on networks such as ESPN and FS1.
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Those plans are on hold after a judge blocked the launch of the platform amid concerns that it stifles competition from cable competitors.
DirecTV says it is unfair that Venu could offer Disney-owned programming without being forced to carry less desirable channels.
"The parties remain at impasse because Disney has refused to allow DirecTV to offer 'skinnier bundles' of programming—unless DIRECTV also meets related minimum penetration requirements designed to make the provision of such skinny bundles effectively impossible or prohibitively expensive," DirecTV said in its complaint. " At the same time, Disney itself— both directly as part of its announced ESPN Flagship service and through its proposed 'Venu' joint venture—plans to sell its most valuable programming more cheaply, in 'skinnier' bundles."
Disney says it proposed a variety of "flexible options."
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Disney added that 90% of DirecTV customers watch Disney's linear program every month.
In a joint statement from Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, they said subscribers lost access to these channels just as the NFL and college football seasons are getting underway.
“While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs. We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming,” they added.
NFL fans impacted by the blackout can still watch this week's Monday Night Football game with the use of an antenna by tuning into ABC. This week's Monday Night Football game is one of eight carried by ABC this season. ESPN is also carrying the 49ers versus Jets game on Monday.
