DirecTV files FCC complaint against Disney for anti-competitive practices

(Reuters) - Satellite TV provider DirecTV has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), accusing Walt Disney of failing to negotiate in good faith and engaging in anticompetitive behavior, the company said on Sunday.

In the complaint, DirecTV said Disney has imposed unreasonable conditions on the renewal of their distribution agreement, including demands for bundling and penetration requirements that a federal court recently ruled unlawful.

DirecTV also said that Disney has insisted on a "fat bundle" of channels, forcing the carrier to offer less popular programming while Disney provides consumers with cheaper, "skinnier" packages.

A Disney spokesperson, in response, said the company continues to negotiate with DirecTV and urged it to finalize a deal that would prioritize customers.

"We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

The dispute has already resulted in over 11 million DirecTV subscribers losing access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, ahead of the National Football League season.

The standoff comes amid a broader debate over the future of bundled programming in the streaming era, with DirecTV seeking to offer more flexible, lower-cost packages without ESPN, while Disney argues for protecting its flagship networks.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)