TV channels owned by The Walt Disney Company, including ABC, ESPN, FX, Nat Geo and The Disney Channel in Satellite TV company Dish Network and its streamers are out after the network went dark on its platform Friday night A customer of the channel service Sling TV is back in a shipping dispute.
In a statement released late Sunday, Disney said it had “reached a handshake agreement” with Dish that “appropriately reflects fair market value and The Walt Disney Company Terms of Unparalleled Content.”
“Therefore,” the company added , “We are pleased to temporarily restore our network portfolio while both parties work to finalize new deals.”
Now both parties must turn the handshake agreement into a legally binding contract .
A Disney source stressed that the relatively brief blackout period reflects the “importance” of Disney Channels to pay-TV providers and that the controversy won’t last long when it arises.
The plate dispute was Disney’s second major blackout last year. In post 10 Disney Channel dimmed briefly YouTube TV. Like the Dish dispute, the outage was quickly resolved.
Disputes come at an untimely time, ABC has just launched new fall programming including Abbott Elementary and ESPN in the NFL midseason and the MLB playoffs start next week.
“After months of good faith negotiations, Dish has refused to enter into a fair, market-based agreement with us to continue to distribute our network,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement Friday. The statement said night. “The rates and terms we seek are reflective of the market and have been the basis of successful deals with pay-TV providers of all types and sizes across the country. We are committed to reaching a fair solution and we urge Dish to work with us to maximize Minimize disruption to its customers.”
Meanwhile, Dish said, Disney is asking for a $1 billion increase in fees and investing in services like Disney+ and ESPN+ that don’t Included in Dish subscription cost.
“Disney has developed its own marketplace,” Brian Neylon, executive vice president and group president of Dish TV, said in a statement. “Clearly, Disney insists on putting greed on the American audience. Above, especially sports fans and families with children watching its content. ”
Dish currently has approximately 10 million pay TV subscribers , split between a satellite TV service and Sling TV.
However, Dish has been particularly aggressive in negotiations with content providers, where blackouts and threats of blackouts are frequent on the service Happened in the last few years.
Shortly after completing the acquisition of the former Fox Network, Disney and Dish were There was a dispute through FX and Nat Geo. Both channels are now covered by Disney’s overarching contract and withdrawn in the current dispute.
Univision Dish was in the dark for the last few months when the two companies couldn’t come to an agreement, and the first in HBO history The blackout is on 10. Dish and HBO until 1197280 before reaching a new agreement 1234978 .
The satellite company has seen local channels go dark in spats with Nexstar and Scripps, with Sinclair narrowly avoiding a blackout last year.
