DIRECTV AND THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY REACH AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF DISNEY’S LINEAR NETWORKS AND DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER SERVICES

All Channels Immediately Restored to DIRECTV Satellite, Streaming, and U-verse Customers

New, Robust Agreement Includes Disney’s Full Portfolio of Networks and Direct-to-Consumer Services, Genre-Specific Options, and ESPN’s Flagship Direct-to-Consumer Offering When It Launches in 2025

BURBANK, Calif. and EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — DIRECTV and The Walt Disney Company today announced an agreement in principle that provides greater choice, value, and flexibility to their mutual customers. As a result, Disney’s full linear suite of networks has been restored to DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM and U-verse customers while both parties work to finalize a new, multi-year contract.

Among the core points agreed to are:

• Continued carriage at market-based terms of Disney’s entertainment, sports and news programming from its comprehensive linear portfolio, which includes the ABC Owned Television Stations, the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels.
• The opportunity to offer multiple genre-specific options — sports, entertainment, kids & family — inclusive of Disney’s linear networks along with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
• Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming services (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) to be included in select DIRECTV packages under a wholesale agreement, and also to be made available on an a la carte basis.
• The rights to distribute Disney’s upcoming ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer service upon its launch at no additional cost to DIRECTV customers.

In a joint statement, the two companies commented: “Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DIRECTV and Disney are giving customers the ability to tailor their video experience through more flexible options. DIRECTV and Disney have a long-standing history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DIRECTV’s customers. We’d like to thank all affected viewers for their patience and are pleased to restore Disney’s entire portfolio of networks in time for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend.”

About DIRECTV
As a leader in sports and entertainment for almost 30 years, DIRECTV provides industry-leading content, service, and user satisfaction. By reimagining what is possible, DIRECTV’s mission is to aggregate, curate and deliver exceptional, innovative service to its customers. In 2023, DIRECTV elevated the customer experience by delivering Gemini, which can integrate customers’ content from their third-party platform subscriptions onto a single one-stop, digital experience. With DIRECTV, the sports season never ends, and customers are treated to broadcasts of several major sports, including the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and multiple domestic and international soccer leagues. DIRECTV provides customers the choice of watching sports, movies, and TV shows on their TVs at home or their favorite mobile devices via the DIRECTV app.

About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Entertainment, Sports and Experiences. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $88.9 billion in its Fiscal Year 2023. 

SOURCE DIRECTV

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