Disney Returns to Dish After 2-Day Blackout
Disney and Dish on Sunday reached a "handshake agreement" to return Disney's suite of networks to Dish satellite and Sling TV customers—just in time for Monday Night Football.
The companies' carriage deal expired at midnight on Sept. 30, taking with it Disney-owned ESPN, FX, Disney Channel, Freeform, and National Geographic, as well as local ABC channels in eight markets. The two-day outage, which threatened access to the upcoming 19th season of ABC flagship Grey's Anatomy and ESPN's weekly NFL coverage, ended Sunday when a new, albeit provisional, contract was approved.
"We have reached a handshake agreement with Dish/Sling TV, which properly reflects fair market value and terms for The Walt Disney Company's unparalleled content," Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution said in a statement published by Deadline(Opens in a new window). "As a result, we are pleased to restore our portfolio of networks on a temporary basis while both parties work to finalize a new deal."
According to a Saturday Dish announcement(Opens in a new window), Disney had declined an offer for a contract extension, "[walking] away from the negotiation table and [refusing] to keep its programming accessible" for Dish and Sling customers across the US. Disney reportedly wanted "nearly a billion dollar increase" in fees compared to its previous agreement, and was pushing Dish to bundle ESPN across more satellite plans, even those that don't currently include sports networks, The Verge notes(Opens in a new window).
"Disney has exploited its market position to increase fees without regard for the public viewing experience," Brian Neylon, EVP and group president of Dish TV, said prior to the deal. "Clearly, Disney insists on prioritizing greed over
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