1
Credit: DisneyDisney’s recent dispute with YouTube TV highlighted some fundamental issues that Disney has yet to grapple with. The first and most glaring is that its linear channels are slowly dying as more consumers cut the cord.
This issue came to the forefront at last week’s earnings call as Disney’s linear channels dragged the company’s earnings. Despite those issues, Disney has one ace in the hole that helps it overcome these other fundamental issues: sports.
However, cable customers are only willing to pay for so much, and those who watch sports do not need the other channels Disney offers, and vice versa. One cable provider devised a unique solution, and Disney decided to sue them over it.
Dish Network started allowing its subscribers to pay for a one-day subscription to certain channels, including Disney-owned channels like ESPN, which carries every major sports network. The one-day pass allowed Sling TV users to access that channel for a day’s worth of games, without having to pay for the channel when they weren’t watching it.
It seemed like a good idea, so Disney sued Dish. In the lawsuit, Disney claimed that Dish violated the terms of its carriage agreement by selling these one-day or weekend passes for its channels. Warner Bros. Discovery is also suing Dish for breach of contract.
This week, U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York ruled that Disney had not shown merit in its breach of contract claims, nor did Disney show that Dish’s arrangement caused irreparable harm to the company.
“The court’s decision is a win for consumers and a validation of what Sling stands for,” Seth Van Sickel, SVP of Sling TV, said in a statement. “For too long, traditional ‘big media’ companies have intentionally stifled innovation and forced customers to pay for more content than they want or need. We believe customers deserve the flexibility to stream the content they want, whenever they want it, at a price they can afford. Consumers deserve affordable TV, not bound by long-term contracts or bloated offerings.”
After the ruling, Dish decided to celebrate in the pettiest way possible and encourage more of its customers to purchase a one-day pass. Until the end of November, Dish lowered the price of its day pass to $1.
This is the ultimate flex for Dish after winning its court case. It encourages more people to purchase the day pass, allowing them to watch ESPN’s sports programming for 24 hours for just one dollar. Disney is still contending that these passes violate its carriage agreement with Dish and plans to present more evidence in court.
What do you think of Dish lowering its prices to $1 to taunt Disney after its legal loss? Let us know in the comments.