Digital Satellite provider DirecTV has filed a complaint with the U.S. FCC accusing Walt Disney of failing to negotiate in good faith and engaging in anticompetitive behavior.
DirecTV said in the complaint that Disney had imposed unnecessary conditions on the renewal of their distribution agreement and demands for bundling and penetration requirements that a federal court recently ruled unlawful.
Disney wants to force DirecTV to carry a ‘fat bundle’ including less desirable Disney programming — while offering cheaper, ‘skinnier’ bundles of programming that consumers want.
DirecTV spokesperson said in the statement that “Disney has violated the FCC’s good faith mandates by predicating any licensing agreements on DIRECTV’s waiving any legal claims on Disney’s past, current, or future anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands,”.
Disney responded to the complaint and said, “We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible. We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal allowing their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news, and entertainment programming, starting with the return of Monday Night Football.”
The controversy has so far resulted in over 11 million DirecTV subscribers losing access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, ahead of the National Football League season.
DirecTV dropped reasons for filing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) complaint, arguing Disney is negotiating in bad faith including, invoking Disney’s joint proposed Venu streaming service.
The debate over the future of bundled programming in the streaming era, with DirecTV seeking to offer more flexible, lower-cost packages without ESPN, while Disney argues for protecting its flagship networks.
While DirecTV is taking issue with the agreement not to sue at this point, Disney and DirecTV have in the past agreed upon “clean slate” provisions as part of previous deals between the companies.
Read More: Dish Network in Talks with Investors to Settle Lawsuit.