The Walt Disney Company this week offered to bring back its ABC broadcast network to millions of DirecTV and U-Verse customers after more than a week of blacking out its channels on the platforms — but the offer was ultimately untenable and would have increased confusion among subscribers, DirecTV executives affirmed on Tuesday.
The offer would have limited DirecTV to restoring only ABC affiliates and stations on its platforms during a three-hour window on Tuesday, timed to coincide with the 2024 Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, as well as shoulder programming that will air on the network before and after the debate.
The satellite TV company countered with its own offer, agreeing to restore ABC for the debate, but only if Disney was willing to extend the same courtesy to its cable channels and allow DirecTV and U-Verse to carry them through next Monday. The counter-offer would have allowed DirecTV customers to watch sports from ESPN, including “Monday Night Football,” as well as channels like FX, National Geographic, Freeform and Disney. Those channels have been unavailable on DirecTV and U-Verse since September 1, when a distribution contract between the two companies expired without a new deal in place.
Disney “flat-out rejected” the counter-offer, DirecTV said.
Related: Read the latest news on the DirecTV-Disney dispute
“Unfortunately, returning only Disney’s ABC stations from the entire portfolio of channels for a limited 3-hour window will cause customer confusion among those who would briefly see the debate only to lose the channel again shortly after,” the company affirmed in a statement.
ABC News is producing the second presidential debate of the season, and the first involving Harris since she accepted the Democratic Party nomination last month. The first debate aired on CNN in July and involved Trump and former incumbent President Joe Biden, who withdrew from the race a few weeks later.
Related: How to watch the ABC News Presidential Debate online for free
Like the CNN debate, ABC News is allowing other broadcast and cable outlets to simulcast the event. Its three broadcast rivals — CBS, NBC and Fox — have all affirmed plans to do so, and the debate will also be carried on other cable news channels like CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, NewsNation and Newsmax that DirecTV and U-Verse carry.
In addition to broadcast and cable TV, the debate will be widely streamed from digital outlets like Scripps News, The Grio and Bloomberg, which will provide free streaming access to the event.
The ABC News Presidential Debate will air Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
