DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday, alleging that Disney failed to negotiate in good faith, as the satellite provider’s blackout on Disney-owned networks continues for a second week.
According to a statement from the service, the FCC's complaint alleges that Disney “failed to negotiate in good faith.”
“Disney violated the FCC’s good faith obligations by basing any licensing agreement on DIRECTV’s waiver of any legal claims based on Disney’s past, current or future anticompetitive actions, including its current packaging and minimum penetration requirements,” the statement reads.
“The negotiations have stalled because Disney insists on bundling and penetration requirements that a New York Federal District Court judge recently found in the context of the 'Venu' joint venture to be unlawful, anticompetitive and 'harmful to consumers.' Disney wants to force DirecTV to carry a 'fat bundle' that includes Disney's less desirable programming, while Disney itself offers cheaper, 'thinner' programming packages that consumers want. The Commission has never considered a good faith complaint under these circumstances, and DirecTV may well want to file one in the future regarding Disney's conduct,” the complaint states.
The carriage dispute began last week when Disney and DirecTV failed to reach an agreement before their previous distribution deal expired on September 1. As a result, several Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and ABC, were pulled from DirecTV's service. Millions of customers were affected, many of whom were unable to watch the NFL season opener or the U.S. Open. ABC News will also be hosting the September 10 debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
“We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible,” a Disney representative said. The Hollywood Reporter. “We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our robust upcoming sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of Monday Night Football.”