DirecTV Files FCC Complaint Accusing Disney of Negotiating in Bad Faith as Blackout of ESPN, ABC Drags On

The acrimony between DirecTV and Disney in their contract fight is getting more heated, as the blackout of Disney-owned networks on DirecTV is all but certain to extend into a second week.

On Saturday, DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, alleging Disney has failed to negotiate in good faith. DirecTV asserted that Disney has violated the FCC’s good-faith mandates by predicating any licensing agreement on DirecTV’s waiving any legal claims on Disney’s “anticompetitive actions,” including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.

Disney and DirecTV failed to reach an agreement before the Sept. 1 expiration of their prior distribution agreement, resulting in ESPN, ABC, FX, SEC Network, ACC Network, Disney Channel, NatGeo, Freeform and the rest of Disney’s networks getting pulled from the DirecTV lineup. The companies remain far apart in settling the feud amid a well-stocked weekend of sports on ESPN and ABC including college football and the 2024 U.S. Open tennis finals. In addition, ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” is set to return Sept. 9 with the New York Jets taking on the San Francisco 49ers, and ABC News will host the Sept. 10 debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

In a statement to Variety in response to DirecTV’s FCC complaint, a Disney spokesperson said: “We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible. We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of ‘Monday Night Football.’”

DirecTV’s complaint says in part, “The negotiations have stalled because Disney insists on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal district court judge in New York recently found in the context of the ‘Venu’ joint venture to be unlawful, anticompetitive, and ‘bad for consumers.’ Disney wants to force DirecTV to carry a ‘fat bundle’ including less desirable Disney programming — while itself offering cheaper, ‘skinnier’ bundles of programming that consumers want. The Commission has never considered a good faith complaint in these circumstances, and DirecTV may well wish to bring one in the future concerning Disney’s conduct.”

The complaint continues, “Along with these anticompetitive demands, Disney has also insisted that DirecTV agree to a ‘clean slate’ provision and a covenant not to sue, both of which are intended to prevent DirecTV from taking legal action regarding Disney’s anticompetitive demands, which would include filing good faith complaints at the Commission. Not three months ago, however, the Media Bureau made clear that such a demand itself constitutes bad faith.”

SEE ALSO: DirecTV Tells Customers It’s Hiking Prices Next Month, Coming Amid Blackout of ESPN, ABC and Other Disney Nets

DirecTV blames Disney for the standstill in negotiations, which has resulted in its more than 11 million customers having “already missed early college football games” and who also “may well miss the first ‘Monday Night Football’ game, and, if the impasse lasts, will miss the presidential debate, produced and hosted by ABC.”

Disney, regarding DirecTV’s point about the Mouse House requiring the pay-TV provider to waive legal claims, says that such a mutual release of claims is standard practice after licensing agreements are negotiated and agreed upon by the parties. Indeed, according to Disney, the media company has had “clean slate” agreements with DirecTV with every previous renewal — and as such, Disney suggests, it is DirecTV that is failing to engage in good-faith talks.

With the blackout, DirecTV satellite subscribers have lost access to Disney’s owned-and-operated ABC local stations in L.A., New York, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Fresno, Calif., and Raleigh, N.C. In addition, subscribers to DirecTV’s streaming services across the U.S. lost access to ABC-affiliated stations not owned by ABC.

In an especially ill-timed move, DirecTV notified subscribers last week of price hikes that will go into effect Oct. 6 for all satellite TV and streaming plans.

DirecTV is hoping to minimize subscriber cancelations during the blackout by offering customers a one-time $20 credit for the loss of Disney nets as well as a $30 credit toward Sling or Fubo streaming packages (which carry ESPN’s suite of networks).

(Pictured above: New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers during the Sept. 11, 2023, game against the Buffalo Bills on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”)