Disney, DirecTV in a dispute over retrans fees

Subscribers could lose Disney channels, including ABC 7 Chicago

As speculated for the last few weeks, a potential retrans dispute between Disney and DirecTV is about to come to fruition.

Cord Cutters News was the first to report on possible service disruptions if a deal between the two wasn’t reached by September 1. The dispute picked up steam as the deadline drew closer with other trade press outlets picking up the story. On Saturday night during college football, both sides made it official. If the two can’t reach an agreement by 4 p.m. Central Time today, DirecTV subscribers will likely lose all Disney-owned channels, including FX, FXX, Disney Channel, and the family of ESPN networks.

In a twist, DirecTV wants to offer cheaper packages to consumers that include ESPN’s sports channels and fewer entertainment networks such as Freeform, FX, Disney Channel, and National Geographic – similar to what Disney wanted to do with its Venu joint venture, but was stopped by a federal judge due to anti-trust concerns.

Disney was involved in a retrans dispute with Spectrum/Charter last year as the cable supplier won some concessions, including the right to offer Hulu and Disney Plus in packages instead of channels such as Freeform and Nat Geo Wild as much of their content can be found on those two streamers.

Viewers will also lose access to ABC in the eight cities where Disney owns the local station, including ABC 7 in Chicago, WABC-TV in New York, and KABC-TV in Los Angeles. Those with a DirecTV stream subscription would also lose access to ABC programming and their local station no matter where they live as the network negotiates carriage for virtual MVPDs instead of station owners. Any station in a duopoly with another ABC station that isn’t a Big Four affiliate (such as independent KSTC Minneapolis), would also be affected.

This comes as DirecTV announced Sunday that they were giving away one million dollars in Visa cards in what I guess you can say is an ill-timed promotion.

This is the latest dispute DirecTV has had with a broadcaster as the satellite provider/virtual streamer is supposedly keeping prices down for customers. In July 2023, Nexstar pulled its signals from DirecTV, including WGN-TV for 77 days and nearly did so with Fox stations in December 2022. Five years ago, Disney and DirecTV had a similar retrans dispute, but an agreement was reached at the last minute, averting a blackout.

There is a lot on the line with these negotiations with the start of football season, U.S. Open tennis, and a major Presidential Debate, but they aren’t going well. If you are a DirecTV subscriber, it’s best to look for alternative options.

Disclosure: The writer of this article is a former DirecTV subscriber.