DirecTV has rejected an offer from Disney that would’ve allowed for only three hours of coverage of the ABC Presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris for blacked-out satellite customers amid its ongoing contract dispute with the satellite provider.
A statement on Tuesday from DirecTV to Variety read, “Unfortunately, returning only Disney’s ABC stations from the entire portfolio of channels for a limited 3-hour window will cause customer confusion among those who would briefly see the debate only to lose the channel again shortly after.”
DirecTV said it had agreed to allow ABC to restore service for the ABC News presidential debate if Disney would “restore all the channels across its platforms through the end of ‘Monday Night Football’ at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 17.”
“Returning the Disney-owned channels for the next week while we work to reach a new agreement would benefit customers who would regain access to ABC for the debate and the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 16 as well as their favorite college and professional football games on ABC and ESPN, ACC or SEC networks,” DirecTV said.
DIRECTV agreed to return ABC in time for tonight’s Presidential Debate if Disney was also willing to return all its channels across platforms through the end of Monday Night Football on Sept. 17.
The Walt Disney Co. flat-out rejected DIRECTV’s request. https://t.co/SpZoxlPz6J
— DIRECTV News (@DIRECTVnews) September 10, 2024
However, “The Walt Disney Co. flat-out rejected DirecTV’s offer,” according to the satellite provider, Variety reported.
In an earlier statement obtained by The Daily Wire on Tuesday, a Disney spokesperson said that it would provide coverage of the three-hour debate where it would be available “widely across broadcast, cable and streaming.”
“Although we have yet to reach an agreement, we are providing a three-hour feed of ABC News coverage to all impacted DirecTV customers at no cost because we want all Americans to be able to view tonight’s debate at this important moment in our history,” the statement read.
“We remain at the table negotiating with DirecTV and the restoration of our programming to their subscribers is completely within their control,” the statement from the Disney spokesperson added.
To DirecTV customers: We did everything possible to make the ABC News presidential debate widely available to the American public – including giving DirecTV the ability to serve you with access to our debate coverage. They rejected that offer. If you are impacted by DirecTV’s… pic.twitter.com/DuM1UwLkjc
— ABC News (@ABC) September 10, 2024
The announcement follows a report last week that more than 11 million DirecTV subscribers nationwide might not see the debate on their ABC News channel after it went dark on September 1 as the Walt Disney Company and the satellite subscription company remain in a carriage dispute, as previously reported.
The existing contract expired on Sept. 1 with the news channel and dozens of others, like ESPN, FX, and Disney Jr going dark — with no current negotiations underway, a source told the outlet.
ABC News is scheduled to host what will likely be the one and only debate between Trump and Harris on Tuesday.
Despite ABC News being blackout for DirecTV, customers who have Disney+, Hulu, or ABC News Live will be able to see Trump and Harris spar, as it will be streamed in real time, Deadline noted.
Related: Millions Might Not See Trump-Kamala Debate Due To Ongoing Contract Dispute
