Disney television channels were blacked out on Dish TV and Sling TV in the US after Disney and Dish failed to hammer out a deal to extend their contract, which lapsed on Friday. They were restored late Sunday after the companies made a temporary agreement as they work on a new deal, Disney confirmed to CNET via email.
“We have reached a handshake agreement with DISH/Sling TV, which properly reflects fair market value and terms for The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled content,” a Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution spokeperson said in a statement.
It was previously reported by Axios.
The affected Disney networks included the Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, National Geographic and Freeform, as well as local ABC affiliates in eight markets, Dish said in a release Saturday.
Each company blamed the other for the weekend blackout.
In its release, Dish said Disney had “walked away from the negotiation table and refused to keep its programming accessible,” and it accused Disney of exploiting “its market position to increase fees without regard for the public viewing experience.”
Disney on the other hand said in a statement to Variety that it had spent months negotiating “in good faith” but that Dish had “declined to reach a fair, market-based agreement with us for continued distribution of our networks.”
Dish didn’t respond to a request for comment about returning to the negotiation table.
Last December, Disney and YouTube TV wrangled over contract terms, leading to a two-day outage before Disney channels were restored.
And this certainly isn’t the first time Dish has butted heads with a company over a carriage contract. Most recently, on Tuesday, the Game Show Network was restored to Dish and Sling TV following a three-week blackout.
