Disney is suing Sling to block the company from including its networks, including ESPN, in new low-cost, short-term plans.
Disney on Tuesday filed suit against Sling parent company DISH Network alleging that the vMVPD’s new short-term plans violate terms of the sides’ carriage agreement, which permit only monthly subscriptions. Under the low cost, short-term plans unveiled earlier this month, users can spend $5 for a “day pass,” $10 for a weekend and $15 for a full week.
The case — “ESPN Enterprises, Inc. et al v. DISH Network, L.L.C.” — was filed under seal in the Southern District of New York and an initial complaint does not appear to have been filed as of yet, according to Todd Spangler of Variety. In a statement, Disney said the plans were made available “without our knowledge or consent” and “violate the terms of our existing licensing agreement.”
Dish is said to have refused a request by Disney to remove its networks from the new plans.
In a statement, a Sling spokesperson said the company believes the lawsuit “is meritless” and that it “will vigorously defend our right to bring customers a viewing experience that fits their lives, on their schedule and on their terms.”
It should be noted that the plans provide access only to networks that are part of the “Sling Orange” tier, which include the ESPN and TNT Sports networks. Networks that are only available on “Sling Blue” — including the Fox and NBC networks — were not included.
The plan’s flexibility would seem to pretty obviously undercut the new ESPN direct-to-subscriber app, as anyone who needs to access the ESPN cable networks just for a specific game can do so for far cheaper than a $30/mo subscription. Then again, it is already possible in most cases to gain short-term access to the bundle free of charge with a trial membership, or at a discounted rate for the first month or two of a new subscription.
ESPN’s lawsuit is a reversal of what has been a trend in recent years, which is linear and cable providers taking legal action against the networks as they have unveiled lower cost offerings and bundles — typically without being saddled with the low-wattage entertainment networks that the distributors are typically forced to carry. It was Fubo’s lawsuit against the proprietors of Venu — Disney, Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery — that ultimately doomed that service before it launched.
UPDATE 8/26: Corrected to reflect that Disney is suing, rather than ESPN.
