DIRECTV vs. Disney: Why Did You Lose Your ABC Station?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.

TV Answer Man, can you explain why on Earth that we lost our ABC station in the Washington DC area?! It’s not owned by ABC or Disney. It’s owned by Sinclair. We have DIRECTV Stream, by the way. Please explain. Thanks. Love your updates. — Mark, Bowie, Maryland.

Mark, DIRECTV last night lost all the Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, when the two sides could not reach a new carriage deal. The list of blacked out channels includes eight Disney-owned affiliates on DIRECTV’s satellite service. However, many DIRECTV Stream and DIRECTV Via Streaming subscribers were surprised to see their ABC affiliates go dark even though they are not owned by Disney.

Here’s why:

DIRECTV directly negotiated the satellite rights to the ABC affiliates with every station group that owns them, including Disney, Sinclair, Tegna, Hearst and all the others. So when DIRECTV lost the Disney contract, it only lost the Disney-owned ABC stations, not Sinclair, Hearst, etc. They still have deals with those non-Disney station groups.

But DIRECTV’s streaming contract for the ABC affiliates was negotiated as a group with Disney, not individually with the station groups. Disney agreed to represent its ABC affiliates to get the best terms to be on DIRECTV Stream and DIRECTV Via Streaming. The streaming contract is with Disney. So when the Disney contract expired last night, DIRECTV’s streaming services lost all the ABC affiliates.

The non-Disney ABC affiliates could now negotiate separate deals with DIRECTV, but there’s no evidence that any are considering that.

Mark, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.