The impasse between DirecTV and Disney over a new carriage agreement has become more heated as it entered its second week.
DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday night accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith.
Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC-owned stations in nine markets, have been off DirecTV since the evening of Sept. 1. That meant DirecTV customers were blacked out from viewing most college football games and the final week of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, including the women's and men's finals.
DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.
ABC and ESPN will have the “Monday Night Football” opener between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. ABC will also produce and carry a presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh, North Carolina, are off DirecTV.
Besides all ESPN network channels and ABC-owned stations, Disney-branded channels Freeform, FX and National Geographic channel are dark.
DirecTV says in its 10-page complaint that Disney is violating the FCC's good faith mandates by asking it to waive any legal claims on any anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.
DirecTV has asked Disney for the option to provide consumers with cheaper and skinnier bundles of programming, instead of bigger bundles that carry programming some viewers might not be interested in watching.
The complaint states: “Along with these anticompetitive demands, Disney has also insisted that DirecTV agree to a ‘clean slate’ provision and a covenant not to sue, both of which are intended to prevent DirecTV from taking legal action regarding Disney’s anticompetitive demands, which would include filing good faith complaints at the Commission. Not three months ago, however, the Media Bureau made clear that such a demand itself constitutes bad faith.”
DirecTV CEO Ray Carpenter said during a conference call with business and media analysts on Tuesday that they would not agree to a new carriage deal with Disney without bundling changes.
"We’re not playing a short-term game,” Carpenter said. “We need something that is going to work for the long-term sustainability of our video customers. The resolve is there.”
Disney has claimed since the blackout began that mutual release of claims is standard practice after licensing agreements are negotiated and agreed upon by the parties. It has also had one with DirecTV under its past renewals.
A Disney spokesperson said: “We continue to negotiate with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible. We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of Monday Night Football.”
Last year, Disney and Charter Spectrum — the nation’s second-largest cable TV provider — were involved in a nearly 12-day impasse until coming to an agreement hours before the first Monday night NFL game of the season.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
DirecTV files complaint against Disney with FCC as impasse enters 2nd week
DirecTV files complaint against Disney with FCC as impasse enters 2nd week
FILE - The ESPN logo is seen, Sept. 16, 2013, prior to an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl, File)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported Monday in Poland, three in Czech Republic and one in Romania.
The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it was expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far 16 people have been reported killed — seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues. He also said the government would provide 1 billion zlotys ($258,000) in immediate payouts to victims.
The flooding in Poland has burst dams and embankments, while receding waters have left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. It prompted a hospital in the southwestern Polish city of Nysa to evacuate about 40 patients.
Schools and offices in the affected areas were closed Monday and drinking water and food were being delivered by trucks. Many Polish cities, including Warsaw, have called for food donations for flood survivors.
Experts warned of flood threats due to cresting Oder River in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents and where disastrous flooding happened in 1997.
Firefighters in southwestern Poland said flood victims included a surgeon whose body was found Monday morning in Nysa after he was returning from hospital duty. The bodies of two women and two other men have been found in other communities in the region.
Police in the Czech Republic said that a woman and two men drowned in the northeast, which has been pounded by record rainfall since Thursday. The men were found dead at different locations after water receded in the town of Krnov that was almost completely submerged on Sunday
Romanian authorities said Monday that another person died in the eastern county of Galati, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to seven.
One death previously was reported in Austria.
Authorities in the Czech Republic declared an emergency in two northeastern regions, including in the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.
A number of towns and cities had been submerged in the northeast, with thousands evacuated. Military helicopters joined rescuers on boats in efforts to transport people to safety. Waters were receding from the mountainous areas on Monday, leaving behind destroyed houses and bridges and damaged roads.
In most parts of the country, conditions were expected to improve later Monday.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the town of Jesenik, one of the hardest hit places.
“The worst is behind us and now, we have to deal with all the damage,” Fiala said following the visit.
In Hungary, the mayor of Budapest warned residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to hit the capital later in the week, with the waters of the Danube River set to breach the city’s lower quays by Tuesday morning.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán canceled his planned foreign engagements, including an address to a plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday where heated debates were expected over his conduct since Hungary took over the European Union’s rotating presidency in July.
“Until we reach the peak and get past the worst of it, I naturally won’t be leaving the country, I’ll be here at home,” he said.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote on Facebook that the city would use 1 million sandbags to bolster flood defenses, and asked residents to take extra care when near the river.
Karel Janicek reported from Prague. Justin Spike contributed to this report from Budapest, Hungary.
This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)
This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)
This handout photo provided by the Polish fire department, shows a flooded area near the Nysa Klodzka river in Nysa, Poland on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KG PSP Photo via AP)
A resident struggles through mud to his house after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Residents look at the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Residents walk through debris after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Residents look at the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident rides a motorcycle after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A view of the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
View of the destroyed bridge after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident struggles through mud to his house after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Resident struggle through mud after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A resident looks at his damaged car after recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Two German Federal Police officers patrol at the border crossing to Poland in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)
A view of the damage done by recent floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
