Disney Sues Sling TV Over $4.99 Day Pass Which Includes ESPN

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

Disney is suing Sling TV over the live streaming service’s decision to include ESPN in its new short-term plans, including a $4.99 day pass, reports Variety.

The company says Sling is not authorized under their carriage agreement to include the sports network in the short-term plans. The streamer this month introduced three new plans that allow consumers to watch its lineup for a day, weekend or week. The prices start at $4.99 for the day pass.

Disney is asking the District Court in the Southern District of New York to order Sling to remove ESPN from all three short-term plans.

“Sling TV’s new offerings, which they made available without our knowledge or consent, violate the terms of our existing license agreement,” Disney said in a statement to Variety. “We have asked the court to require Dish to comply with our deal when it distributes our programming.”

Variety writes that Sling nor its parent, Dish Network, responded to requests for comment.

Update: Variety reports that Sling says the lawsuit is ‘meritless’ and it will ‘vigorously’ defend its plans.

The short-term passes could hurt Disney’s efforts to sign up subscribers for ESPN’s new Unlimited app which includes live feeds of all ESPN channels and on-demand programming. Consumers could opt to pay Sling a one-time fee to watch a big game on ESPN rather than pay $29.99 for a full month of the ESPN standalone app.

Sling has marketed the short-term plans as a way for sports fans to watch a specific game for less money than subscribing to a pay TV service for a full month.

Please consider making a donation to The TV Answer Man site here at the Buy Me a Coffee site. Any donation size is appreciated and will help me continue to provide these articles to you.

Have a Question? Ask The TV Answer Man!
Have a question about a favorite show,  streaming service or new TV product? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message