DirecTV and Disney Can’t Put Differences Aside to Air the Debate
Customers are becoming particularly peeved with the two media giants after a week of missed football broadcasts and, now, a highly-anticipated presidential debate.
Dado Ruvic/Reuters
All hope that Disney and DirecTV would strike a deal in time for Tuesday’s debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has vanished.
Instead, a contract dispute is now poised to leave an estimated 11 million U.S. households without access to ABC News as it moderates the first—and potentially only—showdown of the country’s presidential hopefuls.
A temporary compromise appeared to be in the works on Tuesday, but fell flat about three hours before the debate’s start time at 9 p.m. EST.
Disney said it offered up a three-hour window where DirecTV subscribers could watch ABC News’ coverage of the debate despite their ongoing contract dispute. DirecTV counter-offered by asking for all of Disney’s channels for a week, which would include football on ESPN, reported NPR.
Both parties weren’t satisfied with each others offers, however, and opted to again leave their customers in the dark.
Those without DirecTV will still be able to watch a simulcast of the debate on other major networks. The debate will also be streamed on Disney+, keeping the debate accessible to most American households—albeit with extra steps.
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The media giants have been at odds since DirectTV’s contract with Disney expired at the start of September. Disney and DirecTV have pointed fingers at each other ever since, working overtime to absolve themselves of blame while labeling the other company as greedy.
The timing of the contract dispute came at an incredibly frustrating time for many sports fans. DirecTV customers lost access to ESPN and ABC on the opening weekend of college football, the start of the NFL season, and the home stretch of the U.S. Open.
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