new York
CNN
—
DirecTV wants to keep its customers loyal to the service even amid a growing dispute with Disney that could result in the cancellation of tonight’s Monday Night Football game. So DirecTV has developed an unusual strategy: It will pay its customers to subscribe to a competitor.
DirecTV has agreements with Sling, owned by rival satellite provider Dish Network, and Fubo to offer credits and discounts to its customers when they sign up for competing streaming services. This will allow people to watch the game, which will air on ABC and ESPN, two channels not available on DirecTV’s own service.
Affected DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse customers can get a free one-week trial of Fubo on two of its packages that include ESPN and Disney channels, plus get $30 off the first month of service. DirecTV is also giving customers a $30 credit when they sign up for Sling’s orange tier, which includes ESPN channels.
DirecTV said the offers were a “small help” to customers as the dispute over its expired distribution contract with Disney enters its second week. DirecTV is still offering its customers a credit, but has increased it from $20 to $30.
On Sunday, DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that Disney did not negotiate in good faith and signaling that the two sides are not close to reaching an agreement.
In the 10-page complaint, DirecTV claims negotiations have stalled because “Disney insists on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal district judge in New York recently found to be illegal, anticompetitive and ‘bad for consumers’ in connection with the ‘Venu’ joint venture.”
Last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu Sports, a joint sports streaming venture between Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery, after Fubo filed suit against the media giants. (Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.)
More than 11 million subscribers are affected by Disney’s removal of its ABC channels, ESPN and other networks from DirecTV last week. The shutdown also comes ahead of the upcoming presidential debate on ABC between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and the start of the NFL and college football seasons.
“We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible,” a Disney spokesperson told CNN. “We urge DirecTV to stop creating distractions and instead put its customers first by entering into a deal that allows their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of ‘Monday Night Football.'”
Still, the blackout hasn’t stopped DirecTV’s plans to raise prices for DirecTV Stream and traditional satellite services. Starting in October, monthly fees will increase between $2 and $10, depending on the customer’s plan and service.
–CNN’s Robert Ilich contributed to this report.
