The ongoing feud between pay-TV provider, DirecTV, owned by AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), and TPG Capital and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) over a new carriage agreement has taken a new turn.
What Happened: On Saturday, DirecTV lodged a complaint against Disney with the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the mouse house of "bad faith" negotiations.
The DirecTV-Disney dispute is a carriage fee negotiation, which has been ongoing for two weeks. It has led to a blackout of Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC-owned stations in nine markets, on DirecTV since Sept. 1.
DirecTV alleges that Disney is breaching the FCC's good faith mandates by demanding it waive any legal claims on anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.
Disney, however, insists that mutual release of claims is a standard practice after licensing agreements are negotiated and agreed upon. A Disney spokesperson urged DirecTV to prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would restore access to their content, reported the Associated Press.
Disney did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.
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Why It Matters: The blackout has impacted DirecTV's 11.3 million subscribers, barring them from watching most college football games and the final week of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
DirecTV subscribers could also be missing the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris scheduled for Sept. 10. 2024 at 9 pm EDT.
This development follows DirecTV's shift to a streaming model, removing the need for a satellite dish to access its content. The company has been marketing its pay-TV package, which no longer requires a satellite dish.
Meanwhile, Disney reported solid third-quarter earnings last month, posting a 4% year-over-year revenue increase to $23.16 billion, fueled by subscription revenue growth from price hikes and an expanding Disney+ Core customer base.
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Image via DirecTV
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
AT&T公司旗下的付费电视供应商DirecTV与TPG Capital和Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS)之间关于新运营协议的持续纷争又有了新的转折。
发生了什么：上周六，DirecTV向联邦通信委员会投诉了迪士尼，指控这家动画公司在谈判中表现“不诚信”。
DirecTV-迪士尼争端是一场持续两周的通行费谈判。这导致了DirecTV上的迪士尼频道，包括ESPN和ABC所拥有的电视台，在九个市场停播，自9月1日以来一直处于黑屏状态。
DirecTV声称迪士尼违反了联邦通信委员会的善意要求，要求其放弃对反竞争行为的任何法律索赔，包括其正在进行的打包和最低渗透要求。
然而，迪士尼坚称，在许可协议谈判和达成协议后，相互豁免索赔是一种标准做法。一名迪士尼发言人敦促DirecTV优先考虑他们的客户，通过达成一项恢复内容访问权限的协议来解决问题。
迪士尼尚未对Benzinga的置评请求做出立即回应。
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为什么它很重要：这次黑屏影响了DirecTV的1130万订阅用户，使他们无法收看大部分大学橄榄球比赛和美国公开赛网球锦标赛的最后一周。
DirecTV的订阅用户还可能错过了预定于2024年9月10日晚上9点举行的唐纳德·特朗普和卡玛拉·哈里斯之间的总统辩论。
这一发展是DirecTV转向流媒体模式的结果，不再需要卫星接收器来访问其内容。该公司一直在推广其付费电视套餐，不再需要卫星接收器。
与此同时，迪士尼上个月报告了健康的第三季度收益，营业收入同比增长4％，达到231.6亿美元，得益于订阅收入的增长以及扩大的Disney+核心客户群。
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通过DirecTV获取的图像
- 埃隆·马斯克表示，巴西政府资产在X、临时代码财产被没收后可以被查封：“希望卢拉喜欢坐商务舱”
免责声明：本内容部分使用人工智能工具生成，并经Benzinga编辑审核发布。
