Disney’s 20 television channels have been pulled from Dish Network’s and Sling TV’s services for customers across the US as a result of a failed carriage renewal, according to Variety.
- Dish and Sling TV failed to reach a carriage-renewal deal on Friday, resulting in the removal of Disney’s networks from those services.
- The networks no longer offered on Dish and Sling TV include:
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPNU
- ESPNews
- ESPN Deportes
- Disney Channel
- Disney Jr.
- Disney XD
- Freeform
- FX
- FXX
- FXM
- National Geographic
- Nat Geo Wild
- Nat Geo Mundo
- ACC Network
- SEC Network
- Longhorn Network
- Baby TV
- ABC local stations in eight markets
- Dish claims Disney asked for a $1 billion increase in fees and wanted ESPN and ESPN 2 to be included in packages that otherwise do not include sports channels.
What they’re saying:
- Statement from Disney: “After months of negotiating in good faith, Dish has declined to reach a fair, market-based agreement with us for continued distribution of our networks. As a result, their Dish and Sling TV subscribers have lost access to our unrivaled portfolio of live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from the ABC-owned television stations, the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks, the National Geographic channels and BabyTV.”
- Brian Neylon, EVP and group president of Dish TV: “Disney has exploited its market position to increase fees without regard for the public viewing experience. Clearly, Disney insists on prioritizing greed above American viewers, especially sports fans and families with children who watch their content.”