Disney, DirecTV Reach Agreement To End Blackout

DirecTV and The Walt Disney Co. said they have come to a carriage agreement in principle, ending a blackout that kept subscribers from watching ESPN and other Disney-owned channels as the football season began.

After a two-week negotiating impasse, DirecTV agreed to continue to carry all of Disney’s entertainment, sports and news programming.  The channels are being restored immediately as the two sides finalize and sign a deal.

The satellite TV company said it gained the opportunity to offer multiple genre-specific options to consumers, including sports, entertainment and kids and family packages that include linear Disney networks, as well as its streaming services, Disney Plus , Hulu and ESPN Plus.

Those streaming services will be included in select DirecTV packages.

DirecTV also has the right to distribute the ESPN flagship streaming service at no additional cost to DirecTV customers when it is available.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DirecTV and Disney are giving customers the ability to tailor their video experience through more flexible options,“ the companies said in a statement. “DirecTV and Disney have a long-standing history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DirecTV’s customers.

“We’d like to thank all affected viewers for their patience and are pleased to restore Disney’s entire portfolio of networks in time for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend,” the statement said.

During the blackout, DirecTV subscribers were deprived of the start of Monday Night Football and some college football games. There was also a dispute over carriage of the ABC News debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, although ABC made that event available to other networks.

Earlier this week, Charter Communications reached a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that would give Charter’s Spectrum TV customers WBD’s streaming services, including Max , as part of their pay TV packages.

Charter has signed similar deals with Disney, TelevisaUnivision, Paramount Global and AMC Networks.