The Walt Disney Company has released a statement regarding their ongoing contract dispute with DirecTV. Disney claims that DirecTV is misrepresenting the facts around the ongoing negotiations, as millions of DirecTV customers are left without Disney-owned networks.

The Walt Disney Company and DirecTV Contract Dispute

Beginning on September 1, Disney-owned networks were made unavailable to more than 11 million DirecTV customers because of an ongoing contract dispute between the two parties. Because of the dispute, football fans are without access to Monday Night Football and many college football games, as ESPN and ABC are among the inaccessible channels.

Co-chairmen of Disney Entertainment Dana Walden and Alan Bergman released a new statement with Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN, to provide Disney’s views regarding the dispute.

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.

On Tuesday, September 3, just days after the contract negotiations failed to reach a satisfying conclusion for both sides, Ray Carpenter, Chief Financial Officer for DirecTV, claimed that Disney was not interested in providing flexible packages to customers.

A Disney spokesperson said the following regarding Carpenter’s allegations:

The value of Disney’s portfolio is indisputable as more than 90% of DirecTV households watched its linear programming every month last year – the highest performing on their platform (according to Nielsen). Disney continues to meaningfully invest in its linear channels and almost all linear content is exclusive to or premieres on Disney’s networks including live sports and events.

The spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company also stated that Disney has proposed numerous packages aimed at providing customers with the choices that DirecTV is concerned consumers aren’t receiving. These offerings include a sports-centric package, an entertainment-based option, and linear offerings with subscription services.

For the dispute to be resolved, Disney asks for rates that reflect the value of Disney’s content and are in line with other distribution providers in the marketplace.

At the time of writing, DirecTV has not responded to Disney’s statement. We will continue to update the story as more information becomes available.

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