Disney Leaders Clap Back at DirecTV’s Claims as ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel Blackout Stretches into Day 4

Disney leaders have responded to claims made by DirecTV executives amid the contract dispute that led to ESPN, ABC and other Disney-owned channels going dark on the satellite TV provider’s platform as of Sept. 1.

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DirecTV executives made bold claims on Sept. 3 about how Disney’s actions have harmed consumers as well as the decline in viewership for linear channels such as ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel, Freeform, FX and National Geographic. DirecTV has been sharp-edged in its public comments, suggesting that Disney is throwing its corporate weight around at a time when it is fighting anticompetitive claims in a lawsuit that has held up the launch of Venu, the Mouse’s sports streaming joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corp.

On Wednesday, Disney issued a statement calling out DirecTV a what it described as an effort to “misrepresent” the reality of pay TV marketplace conditions. The sides have been wrangling over the contract renewal on and off for months. Even as the blackout has ensued, the sides are continuing to try to reach a compromise.

“DirecTV continues to misrepresent the facts around our ongoing negotiations. Our priority is to reach a marketplace deal that serves the needs of DirecTV and their customers while also recognizing the value of our top-quality content and the significant investment required to create and acquire it. We believe there is a path to a fair and flexible agreement that strikes this critical balance and works for all sides, especially the consumer,” Disney said in a statement attributed to Disney Entertainment chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro.

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Disney also asserted that by its analysis of Nielsen data some 90% of DirecTV households engaged with some form of Disney-owned content on the satcaster’s platform during every month of 2023 — a high ratio that made Disney content “the highest performing” on DirecTV, per the Mouse.

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