DirecTV Rejects Disney's Proposal to Restore ABC News During Presidential Debate

DirecTV customers may be able to view the Presidential Debate on ABC News tonight, despite the ongoing dispute between the company and Disney, if DirecTV accepts Disney’s offer.

UPDATE – 4:00 p.m. ET:

It looks like DirecTV subscribers will not have access to ABC News for the Presidential Debate tonight, as DirecTV has rejected Disney’s offer.
In response, DirecTV released the following statement:
- “On Tuesday, Disney requested a unique exception to return ABC-only for tonight because it’s hosting the 2024 Presidential Debate, an event widely available across other major broadcast stations and news networks. Unfortunately, returning only Disney’s ABC stations from the entire portfolio of channels for a limited 3-hour window will cause customer confusion among those who would briefly see the debate only to lose the channel again shortly after.”

Previously – 3:40 p.m. ET:

Deadline reports that while Disney and DirecTV have yet to reach an agreement regarding their dispute, they will be providing a three-hour feed of ABC News coverage to all impacted customers at no cost.
The three-hour window will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT with pre-debate coverage followed by the Linsey Davis and David Muir moderated debate itself. A short post debate segment is expected to air for DirecTV customers as well.
While this is Disney’s plan, the deal depends on DirecTV agreeing to Disney’s temporary no blackout proposal. The offer has reportedly been “on the table for hours,” with no response from DirecTV.
On September 1st, DirecTV customers lost access to all Disney networks because, according to Disney, DirecTV declined “a fair, marketplace-based agreement.”
While the dispute is ongoing, both Disney and DirecTV are offering impacted customers $30 credits to be used towards Sling TV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV.

What They’re Saying:

Disney statement: “As we announced in May, the ABC News presidential debate will be widely available across broadcast, cable and streaming. Although we have yet to reach an agreement, we are providing a three-hour feed of ABC News coverage to all impacted DirecTV customers at no cost because we want all Americans to be able to view tonight’s debate at this important moment in our history. We remain at the table negotiating with DirecTV and the restoration of our programming to their subscribers is completely within their control.”