Disney Networks Including ESPN, ABC Go Dark on Dish and Sling TV Amid Carriage Dispute

Disney’s suite of 20 TV channels was yanked off Dish Network’s satellite television and Sling TV services for customers across the U.S., after the two companies failed to reach a carriage-renewal deal Friday.

The following Disney networks are no longer available on Dish TV or Sling TV: ESPN, FX and Disney Channel. There is also National Geographic and ABC local stations in eight markets. The two companies’ previous carriage contract expired at midnight PT on Sept. 30. Dish is notorious in the pay-TV business for aggressive negotiating tactics with content companies — and hasn’t been afraid to sit through extended blackouts to try to extract more favorable terms.

According to Dish, the media conglomerate had asked for a $1 billion increase in fees (though it’s not clear what that entails) and declined the pay-TV operator’s offer for a contract extension. Dish accused Disney of initiating the channel blackout and “hold[ing] viewers hostage for negotiation leverage.”

Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution said Dish had rejected its “fair, market-based” offer for continuing to carry the networks.

“After months of negotiating in good faith, Dish has declined to reach a fair, market-based agreement with us for continued distribution of our networks. As a result, their Dish and Sling TV subscribers have lost access to our unrivaled portfolio of live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from the ABC-owned television stations, the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks, the National Geographic channels and BabyTV.”

According to Disney, “The rates and terms we are seeking reflect the marketplace and have been the foundation for numerous successful deals with pay-TV providers of all types and sizes across the country. We’re committed to reaching a fair resolution, and we urge Dish to work with us in order to minimize the disruption to their customers.”

Dish claimed that Disney demanded ESPN2 and ESPN3 be included in Dish TV packages, which currently exclude sports channels. In addition, while Dish TV has allowed subscribers to remove local channels to reduce their monthly bills, “Now Disney wants to take this away by forcing most Dish customers in their ABC markets to pay for local channels,” the pay-TV provider said.

“Disney has exploited its market position to increase fees without regard for the public viewing experience,” Brian Neylon, EVP and group president of Dish TV, said in a statement. “Clearly, Disney insists on prioritizing greed above American viewers, especially sports fans and families with children who watch their content.”

The complete list of Disney-owned networks that are affected by the blackout is: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU. ESPN Deportes. Disney Channel, Disney Jr. FX, FXXX, FXM. National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild. Nat Geo Mundo. ACC Network, SEC Network. Longhorn Network. Baby TV.

ABC-owned locals have wonked off Dish TV and Sling TV: Chicago (WLS), Fresno (KFSN), Houston, (KTRK), Los Angeles, Los Angeles (KABC), New York, WABC), Philadelphia, WPVI), Raleigh (N.C.) (WTVD), and San Francisco (KGO).

Dish had 7.79million satellite TV subscribers as of June 30, which was down 9% year-over-year, and 2.20million Sling TV subscribers as of June 30, which was down 10% year over.

The Disney networks’ removal from Dish and Sling comes just four days after Dish reached a carriage-renewal agreement for Sony Pictures’ Game Show Network following a three-week blackout. Meanwhile, Disney had hit an impasse in carriage talks with Google’s YouTube TV in December 2021, resulting in a two-day blackout on the internet TV service.