We've seen it before: a cable or satellite provider and a content provider compete head-to-head over a new distribution contract.
DirecTV vs Disney: The carriage battle shakes up the TV world!
The latest battle is between DirecTV and Disney. On September 1, Disney channels went black on DirecTV in the middle of ESPN’s coverage of the US Open, meaning customers of the satellite provider can no longer watch the sports streamer’s offshoot channels, as well as ABC and Disney stations. (Let’s leave out Disney+, etc., which are a different story.)
A carriage contract is an agreement in which the carrier pays the provider to distribute the provider's content (shows, certain advertisements, etc.). This happens at many levels, from local to national, and occasionally the negotiations become so fraught that the carrier pulls the provider's programming off the "air," resulting in a loss of service to viewers as both parties take a stand.
Both sides can, will, and have already begun the publicity war, blaming each other and appealing to consumers. DirecTV screams that Disney is trying to extort them by forcing them to buy "packages" (as in, you can't have ESPN unless you also buy ABC), while Disney screams that DirecTV is the enemy of the consumer because it won't agree to carry all the content it wants to distribute.
