Satellite and streaming pay TV platform DirecTV is taking an unusual tactic during its ongoing dispute with the Walt Disney Company: Pointing customers to some of its competitors.
On Friday, the company said it was offering existing DirecTV via Satellite, DirecTV via Internet DirecTV Stream and U-Verse customers the option to take advantage of promotional pricing from streaming TV platforms Fubo and Sling TV so they can watch the conclusion of the U.S. Open tennis tournament and the start of “Monday Night Football,” both of which are carried on ESPN.
A DirecTV spokesperson tells me the original bill credit offer was $20, but Fubo/Sling each kicked in an additional $10 to those who sign up for their services, bringing total to $30 — but customers have to call or visit TV Promise website to get it.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) September 6, 2024
Customers who sign up for Fubo’s Pro or Elite with Sports Plus plans will get their first seven days of service for free, and score $30 off their first month of either package. DirecTV says it will also chip in for Fubo by providing its existing satellite, streaming and U-Verse customers with a $30 bill credit.
Related: Click or tap to see current the latest offers from Fubo TV
Alternatively, DirecTV and U-Verse customers can sign up for Echostar-owned Sling TV, which offers ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN 3 and a handful of other channels in its Sling Orange package, priced between $40 and $45 per month, depending on where a subscriber lives. As with the Fubo offer, DirecTV says it will chip in $30 through a bill credit when a customer signs up for Sling TV’s Sling Orange package to access the Disney-owned channels.
“This is a small way to help you stay connected to your sports and entertainment while we work with Disney to reach a new agreement,” a DirecTV spokesperson told customers in a statement.
Related: Click or tap to see the latest offers from Sling TV
Disney-owned channels have been unavailable to DirecTV and U-Verse customers since September 1, when a distribution agreement between the companies lapsed without a new agreement in place.
While carriage disputes have historically focused on fees paid by cable and satellite companies to programmers like Disney for their channels, things are different this time around, with DirecTV saying it wants the ability to place Disney-owned channels in genre-based programming packages that can be sold to subscribers at potentially lower rates.
Typically, Disney forces cable and satellite companies to offer channels like ESPN and FX in the base programming package offered by a distributor, which drives up the overall cost of the package, DirecTV says. But DirecTV asserts Disney proved it was willing to sell access to its sports channels separately when it agreed to participate in Venu Sports, a streaming joint venture formed with Fox Corporation and Warner Bros Discovery that aimed to offer sports-inclusive channels like Fox, ABC, ESPN, Fox Sports 1, TBS, TNT and Tru TV for around $50 — far below the cost of a traditional pay TV package.
DirecTV says Disney should extend the ability to sell channels around genres to its cable and satellite partners, and is holding out for a deal that will alow DirecTV and U-Verse to do just that.
