TV channels owned by The Walt Disney Company, including ABC, ESPN, FX, Nat Geo and The Disney Channel are Customers of the satellite television company Dish Network and its streaming multi-channel service Sling TV are dark at midnight Pacific time.
The channel was cancelled after the two companies were unable to come to an agreement on a new shipping agreement.
The feud comes at an inopportune time, ABC just launched new fall programming including The Return of Abbott Elementary and ESPN in the NFL midseason and the MLB playoffs start next week.
“After months of negotiations in good faith, Dish has refused to enter into a fair, market-based agreement with us to continue distributing our network,” a Disney spokesperson stated. “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 customers.”
Meanwhile, Dish said, Disney is asking for a $1 billion increase in fees and investing in services like Disney+ and ESPN+, which don’t include in the cost of a Dish subscription.
Brian Neylon, executive vice president and group president of Dish TV, said in a statement. “It is clear that Disney insists on prioritizing greed over American audiences, especially sports fans and families with children watching its content.”
Dish currently has approximately
million pay TV subscribers, split between satellite TV services and Sling TV.
The Dish controversy was the second major Disney blackout last year. Recently 2018 Disney’s channel was briefly dimmed on YouTube TV .
However, Dish has been particularly active in its negotiations with content providers, and in recent years, blackouts and threats of blackouts have been common on the service.
Shortly after closing the acquisition of the former Fox Network, Disney and Dish got into an argument over Via FX and Nat Geo. Both channels are now covered by Disney’s overarching contract and have been canceled in the current controversy.
Univision hacked Dish for months when the two companies couldn’t reach an agreement , and the first blackout in HBO history was on 2018 The Dish. Dish and HBO have no new deal until2021 .
The satellite company has seen the local channel go dark in its feud with Nexstar and Scripps, and Sinclair narrowly avoided a blackout last year.
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