DirecTV Aims to Extend Pay-TV Regulations in Negotiations with Disney, Bloomberg News Reports

Walt Disney Co is negotiating with pay-TV provider DirecTV to renew their contract, which could lead to channels such as ABC and ESPN being blacked out as soon as September 1 if an agreement isn't reached, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. According to the report, DirecTV is seeking to modify the contract terms that have traditionally mandated cable and satellite-TV distributors to charge customers for channels like ESPN, regardless of their viewership.

DirecTV is suggesting alternative channel packages categorized by genres, such as children's programming, movies, news, local stations, sports, or Spanish content, according to the report. Disney, in response, is considering providing sports-specific packages to other distributors and is also open to offering smaller packages and negotiating lower minimum subscriber guarantees.