DirecTV has tapped a former Disney character to draw attention to its ongoing carriage dispute with the Walt Disney Company.
The campaign utilizes images of Steamboat Willie to make the point that DIsney “is stuck in the past” and “driving up TV fees” on cable and satellite platforms through its programming agreements with cable and satellite distributors.
Steamboat Willie — which resembles Disney’s iconic character, Mickey Mouse — entered into the public domain earlier this year, meaning any individual or company may utilize the cartoon for any purpose, even if it is commercial in nature. The ads featuring Steamboat Willie have already started running on social media and via display ad partners, a DirecTV spokesperson confirmed to The Desk on Sunday.
Related: Read the latest news about the ongoing DirecTV-Disney dispute
DirecTV and Disney have been at odds since September 1, when a contract allowing DirecTV to carry channels owned by Disney expired without a new agreement in place. The situation has left DirecTV and U-Verse subscribers unable to access ESPN, FX, National Geographic, Disney Channel and Freeform. DirecTV satellite and Internet customers also lost access to ABC-owned stations in eight metropolitan areas, while DirecTV Stream and U-Verse (formerly AT&T U-Verse) subscribers have lost access to ABC stations and affiliates across the country.
While higher fees are typically the cause of programming-related disputes, the fight between DirecTV and Disney resolves around other carriage terms. Notably, DirecTV is holding out for an agreement that would allow it to distribute Disney-owned channels through genre-based bundles; executives say Disney should be open to the situation, given their participation in Venu Sports, which was set to offer sports-inclusive channels without entertainment and news networks until a federal judge last month issued a temporary injunction blocking the service from launching.
Disney executives say DirecTV’s demand for genre-based channel bundles is untenable, though they have not explained why. DirecTV’s Chief Programming Officer Rob Thun told The Desk that Disney’s participation in Venu Sports proved the model can work, and that the same distribution terms should be afforded to other cable and satellite providers.
DirecTV also takes issue with a demand by Disney to waive any rights to characterize its distribution terms as anticompetitive or monopolistic, which could limit DirecTV’s indirect involvement in Fubo’s antitrust lawsuit against the broadcaster over Venu Sports. Thun previously filed an affidavit in support of Fubo’s request for an injunction.
