Credit: Inside The MagicJust over a month after a dustup with Disney over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, Sinclair Broadcasting CEO Chris Ripley is sparking another fight with The Walt Disney Company. This time, it’s over the contract dispute between Disney and Google-owned YouTube TV that is entering its second week.
Sinclair Broadcasting is the largest owner of ABC affiliates in the country, and is losing money from YouTube TV subscribers who are blacked out on Disney-owned channels, including missing last weekend’s college football games and this week’s NFL Monday Night Football Game.
However, this time, Ripley is pulling out the big guns to fight Disney. He is calling on the Federal Communications Commission and potentially the Department of Justice to investigate Disney and its removal of its channels from YouTube TV.
“We, as local broadcasters, have no say in whether our content and the content we pay to air will be distributed to local viewers,” Ripley said. “This was clearly not the intent of the Communications Act, and seems to be, from our perspective, an antitrust issue as well.”
During an earnings call, Ripley told investors that YouTube TV subscribers should still have access to Disney-owned channels while the two sides hash out their arguments. More importantly, he has spoken with regulators from the FCC and the Securities and Exchange Commission about an antitrust investigation. Ripley also informed investors that the FCC has initiated an investigation into “hurtful network affiliation practices.”
“Disney/ABC and other networks should not be able to dictate to us whether we can or cannot distribute content to YouTube TV or even Hulu and Fubo, which, coincidentally, are now also owned by Disney,” Ripley said. “Particularly concerning is that consumers are now being forced to buy more streaming services from one of the parties in the dispute to get the content that they literally already paid for.”
YouTube TV has 10 million subscribers who are no longer receiving any Disney-owned channels while the two sides argue over their carriage fees. For Sinclair, that means fewer viewers for significant events, such as this weekend’s college football games. Estimates suggest that ESPN’s College Gameday lost 2.5 million viewers on Saturday due to the dispute, and Disney is losing $5 million a day.
Sinclair has just resolved a dispute with Disney over the return of Jimmy Kimmel’s show to the airwaves. After removing Kimmel from its airwaves, Sinclair said that it would not return Kimmel to its stations until “formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability,” and until Kimmel makes a direct apology to the Kirk Family, and for the network to make a significant donation to the family and Turning Point U.S.A.
After Disney returned Kimmel to its airwaves, Sinclair still refused to allow him back on its stations until a few days after his return. There is no evidence that Sinclair got what it was asking for from Kimmel or Disney.
Sinclair is known for its conservative leanings and owns 294 stations across the nation. Sinclair owns the ABC affiliates in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Tulsa, San Antonio, and Seattle, as well as dozens of other markets across the country. The major broadcaster is also known to have close ties to the president and members of his cabinet.
Now, a fight between Google and Disney over minor fees is escalating into a battle for the future of broadcast television, with the stakes including who decides what and when it will be aired.
What do you think of Sinclair turning to the Trump Administration to punish Disney? Let us know in the comments.