On the night of Sunday, Sept. 1, DirecTV subscribers suddenly found themselves without Disney programming — together with ESPN, ABC, Hulu, Disney Plus, Freeform and FX. With out these Disney channels, DirecTV viewers have misplaced entry to the US Open tennis tournament and faculty soccer video games.
The contract dispute between Disney and DirecTV echoes a similar outage last year on Spectrum TV for ESPN, ABC and associated channels. Whereas final 12 months’s dispute was largely about licensing prices, this 12 months’s disagreement may run a bit deeper.
On a convention name with traders Tuesday, DirecTV CFO Ray Carpenter stated, “This isn’t a run-of-the-mill dispute. This isn’t the type the place persons are haggling over proportion factors on the charges,” according to Reuters. And on the social media website X (previously Twitter), the official DirecTV account has been warning subscribers that “switching isn’t the answer.”
There isn’t any indication of when or whether or not the contract dispute between Disney and DirecTV can be resolved. Till then, DirecTV is providing a billing credit score to subscribers impacted by the Disney outage. Learn on to discover ways to declare that billing credit score and every part else you should know in regards to the Disney-DirecTV contract dispute.
Which viewers are affected by the Disney channel outage on DirecTV?
In its assertion Sunday, DirecTV stated that “tens of millions of DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse prospects” misplaced entry to Disney programming channels. That programming contains embody Disney Plus, ESPN, ABC, Hulu, Freeform and FX. In accordance with Statista, DirecTV had 11.3 million subscribers within the fourth quarter of 2023.
DirecTV subscribers with native ABC affiliate stations that are not owned by Disney will proceed to obtain their native ABC channel by way of satellite tv for pc service, however ABC is not going to be accessible by way of streaming.
When will Disney channels return to DirectTV?
The meat between Disney and DirecTV this 12 months brings a little bit of soccer season déjà vu. Final 12 months, on Aug. 31, Spectrum TV viewers suddenly lost access to Disney programming attributable to one other licensing settlement dispute.
Disney and Spectrum finally resolved their variations, but it surely took till Sept. 11. Since this licensing settlement dispute is totally different, there is no indication but if DirecTV viewers can have ESPN again by the point the 49ers host the Jets for the first Monday Night Football game on Sept. 9.
How else can DirecTV subscribers watch ESPN, ABC and different Disney channels now?
Now that Disney channels are off DirecTV, subscribers might make the most of different streaming providers with a view to exchange that programming. Each of CNET’s top-rated streaming providers — YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV — provide all the main Disney channels that had been faraway from DirectTV, together with ABC, ESPN, Disney Plus, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FX and Nationwide Geographic.
YouTube TV’s base plan costs $73 a month and offers a 21-day trial, in case you are anticipating Disney and DirecTV to resolve their variations within the subsequent few weeks. Hulu Plus Live TV costs $77 a month and presents a three-day trial.
Fubo’s base plan contains all the main Disney channels like ESPN, FX and ABC. It runs $80 a month, though there’s a seven-day free trial and the first month currently only costs $50. Equally, SlingTV offers many of the Disney channels by means of its base Sling Orange bundle, which prices $15 for the first month and $40 a month thereafter. If you need your native ABC affiliate you will both want so as to add Sling Blue or increase your TV protection with an over-the-air antenna.
As talked about above, in case your native ABC affiliate shouldn’t be owned by Disney, you’ll nonetheless obtain your native channel by way of satellite tv for pc however not by way of streaming with the DirecTV app.
How can DirecTV subscribers get a refund for the lack of Disney programming?
When you’re a DirecTV subscriber affected by the lack of the Disney programming channels, you would be eligible for a credit score from the satellite tv for pc TV firm. On its support page for missing TV channels, DirecTV says that the credit score is “a small solution to acknowledge the disruption and make up for the momentary inconvenience whereas we work to convey the channels again to your lineup.”
To see in case you qualify for a DirecTV credit score, go to the corporate’s TV Promise web page, decide your TV service from the drop-down menu, enter your ZIP code and hit Search to see. If the location says that you simply’re eligible for a credit score, go to the Discover invoice credit part of the TV Promise web page to pick the right button to say your compensation.
Unbiased CNET analysis backs up reports from Reddit that the bill credit is $20, and that it must be utilized to your subsequent DirecTV invoice.
