Earlier this summer, DirecTV showed up regularly in the news because of the Sunday Ticket antitrust trial against the NFL. Now, DirecTV returns to the headlines, due to its negotiations with Disney.
The deal between DirecTV and the various Disney-owned networks (including ABC and ESPN) has expired. Absent a new contract, the networks will disappear from DirecTV, forcing customers to look elsewhere for Monday Night Football.
Last year, it happened between Disney and Charter Communications. That fight lasted from August 31 until just before the Week 1 game between the Bills and the Jets.
The situation hasn’t gotten ugly, yet. But it’s moving in that direction. DirecTV has launched UnbundleDisney.com, which makes the against Disney and its desire to tie various networks together, regardless of whether consumers want them.
These things usually get worked out. And maybe this one hasn’t gotten more press because DirecTV is a dying platform. It has fallen from a peak of 21 million subscribers to under 9 million.
Regardless, that’s a lot of people who won’t be able to watch Monday Night Football, if Disney and DirecTV can’t work this out.