Entertainment giant Disney and DirecTV have agreed on a new distribution deal to restore popular Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC, to the satellite broadcaster's 11.3 million subscribers on Saturday morning.
The agreement ends a nearly two-week standoff between the two companies that had been acrimonious, with the Live TV group accusing Disney of being insincere about negotiations. Subscribers suffered a loss, missing out on some popular sports programming, including college football games and the first week of "Monday Night Football."
The two companies said that under the terms of the deal, Disney would charge Live TV Group more for programming that covers its networks and local ABC stations, and that Live TV Group would have greater flexibility in selling Disney Channels to customers, a key sticking point in negotiations for the agreement.
"Live TV Group and Disney will provide more flexible options that allow customers to customize their TV experience," the companies said in a joint statement. Live TV Group will be able to bundle Disney Channels by categories such as sports, entertainment, and kids and family content, the companies said.
Being able to sell Disney Channels by content type means Live TV Group customers who don't want to watch expensive sports programming won't have to be forced to subscribe to the channels.
As part of the deal, Live TV Group will be able to include Disney streaming services Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu in select packages for its subscribers. Live TV Group will pay wholesale prices for the ability to sell these services, which will also be available on-demand to all subscribers.
Live TV Group will have the rights to launch a much-anticipated new ESPN streaming service next year at no additional cost to its subscribers. In addition to Live TV Group's satellite services, the agreement also covers Live TV Group's streaming platform and U-Verse.
During the contract dispute, Live TV Group filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission accusing Disney of being insincere in its negotiations. A person familiar with the matter said the complaint is still being processed.