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Disney says it has offered DirecTV genre-based bundles amid dispute
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Disney says it has offered DirecTV genre-based bundles amid dispute

Disney is taking action against DirecTV after the satellite TV provider held a call with media and analysts on Tuesday, during which the company outlined its position in the transmission dispute.

As a result of the dispute, many Disney channels, including ABC and ESPN, were taken offline for millions of DirecTV customers on September 1, during the US Open and ahead of the NFL season.

DirecTV CFO Ray Carpenter said Tuesday that the company is seeking more flexible options for its customers, including “skinny, genre-based” packages where customers can choose the type of content they want to pay for, bundled around genres such as news, family and sports, with different price points tied to those options. During the call, Carpenter suggested that Disney had resisted the idea.

Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-presidents of Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, said that was not the case.

“DirecTV continues to misrepresent the facts surrounding our ongoing negotiations. Our priority is to reach a marketplace deal that meets the needs of DirecTV and their customers, while also recognizing the value of our top-quality content and the significant investment required to create and acquire it. We believe there is a path to a fair and flexible agreement that strikes this critical balance and works for all parties, especially the consumer,” the statement said.

According to a Disney spokesperson, Disney DirecTV has offered a number of custom packages, including a sports-focused offering with ESPN and ABC, an entertainment-based option, and linear offerings tied to Disney’s direct-to-consumer subscription services.

The spokesperson added that Disney’s proposed rates are “in line with other distribution providers in the market” and that Disney has also offered options to connect the DirecTV platforms to Disney’s streaming services.