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A contract dispute between Disney (DIS+0.15%) and the nation’s third-largest television provider DirecTV (T+0.73%) caused over 11 million people to miss out on Monday night football. If the dispute is not resolved by the end of the day, millions of Americans will also be unable to watch tonight’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Disney pulled all of its broadcast and cable channels — including Disney-owned ABC stations, ESPN, Disney Channel, National Geographic, and Freeform — from DirecTV’s satellite and streaming service on Sept. 01 after the two companies failed to agree to a new contract.
The central disagreement is that Disney wants to raise the fees it charges DirecTV for its channels, while the satellite company wants to more flexibility in how it bundles and sells the channels to customers, including offering bundles with fewer channels.
Disney is now allowing other channels, including Fox News (FOXA-0.47%) and CNN (WBD+1.03%), to broadcast ABC News’s debate. The debate will also be available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The negotiations come as media companies like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are struggling with their cable business and are prioritizing their streaming services.
DirecTV filed a complaint with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this weekend, claiming that Disney is negotiating in bad faith by forcing DirecTV to agree to waiving any legal claims against Disney for anticompetitive actions in order to secure a licensing agreement.
As the negotiations drag on, DirecTV is now paying its affected subscribers to subscribe to rival services.
The company has struck a deal with the sports-centric streaming service Fubo (FUBO+4.08%). Affected DirecTV customers can get a free weeklong trial of two Fubo packages that include ESPN and Disney networks, along with a $30 discount for the first month of service.
DirecTV is also offering customers $30 to sign up for Sling, a live TV streaming service owned by Dish Network.