Disney Cable Disputes
Disputes between the Disney Company and cable service providers
- EchoStar, Disney Settle Programming Dispute - Los Angeles Times (4/5/2002)
EchoStar has agreed to restore Disney-owned ESPN Classic to its nationwide system and will continue to carry the ABC Family cable channel. - Disney and EchoStar Reach Agreement for Carriage of ABC Family and ESPN Classic on DISH Network - (4/5/2002)
The agreement provides for the long-term carriage of ABC Family and calls for EchoStar to restore ESPN Classic to its prior level of service on DISH Network by mid-April. The agreement also resolves the legal proceedings between the two companies regarding ABC Family. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. - Disney, EchoStar extend talks on ABC Family - Reuters (3/18/2002)
According to a March 18th Reuters item, Disney and EchoStar have received a second extension as they struggle to reach an agreement outside the courtroom. - Delay in Disney, EchoStar Legal Battle - Associated Press (3/12/2002)
The March 12th Associated Press reports Disney and Echostar have requested and received a postponement of their court case in hopes of reaching a settlement outside the courtroom. - EchoStar Under Order To Carry ABC Channel - Los Angeles Times (1/16/2002)
The January 16th Los Angeles Times reports EchoStar will carry the ABC Family Channel until March 11th to allow third-party discovery and depositions in the continuing contract dispute suit. Disney opposed postponing the trial from its orginally scheduled date this week claiming uncertainty was burdening the station. - Disney disputes claim it sought higher Echostar fees - Reuters (1/10/2002)
The January 9th Reuters reports Disney, in a statement released by ABC Cable Networks Group president Anne Sweeney, denies it sought any increase in the fees for ABC Family beyond those agreed to by EchoStar in 1995. - Disney Strikes Back at EchoStar - CBS MarketWatch (1/10/2002)
The January 10th CBS MarketWatch examines Disney's response to claims by EchoStar that they sought higher rates to have ABC Family carried by the satellite company. - Statement Released by Anne Sweeney, President, ABC Cable Networks Group - (1/10/2002)
The Walt Disney Company and ABC Cable Networks Group wish to correct the misleading statements provided to the press by EchoStar regarding the fees it pays for ABC Family. In a press release it issued January 2, EchoStar falsely claimed that Disney has sought increased fees for carriage of ABC Family on the EchoStar system. - ABC Family to Stay on Dish Network - Los Angeles Times (1/9/2002)
The January 9th Los Angeles Times reports ABC Family will remain on EchoStar's Dish Network until at least January 17th when the trial to decide the channel's fate will be held. - EchoStar Issues Statement Concerning Disney's ABC Family Channel and ESPN Classic - (1/3/2002)
EchoStar releases a statement about the current dispute with Disney. In it they state, "Disney's hypocritical interest in consumers is evident not only through its exorbitant price increases to distributors like EchoStar, but is evidenced by Disney executives' very real and documented threats to oppose the pending EchoStar-Hughes merger unless EchoStar bowed to Disney's demand for continued carriage at much higher rates for ABC Family and ESPN Classic." - Disney's Response to the EchoStar Statement - (1/3/2002)
Disney releases a response to the statement by EchoStar in which they charge EchoStar with misrepresenting the ESPN situation and call their claims that Disney sought price increases for ABC Family fabrications. - EchoStar Fires Back in Feud With Disney - Los Angeles Times (1/3/2002)
The January 3rd Reuters reports EchoStar charges Disney wanted them to pay higher rates or else they would oppose EchoStar proposed merger with DirectTV. - Disney takes round in TV fight - Orlando Sentinel (1/2/2002)
The January 1st Orlando Sentinel reports the Disney Company received a temporary restraining order keeping satellite TV provider EchoStar Communications Corp. from dropping Disney's ABC Family Channel. - Reprieve for Disney's ABC Family - Los Angeles Times (1/2/2002)
The January 1st Los Angeles Times reports the Disney Company received a temporary restraining order keeping satellite TV provider EchoStar Communications Corp. from dropping Disney's ABC Family Channel. - Disney Denies Threat to Block Satellite TV Deal - Los Angeles Times (12/31/2001)
According to the December 29th Los Angeles Times, Disney denies one of its executives threatened to block EchoStar's proposed merger with DirecTV with " a March on Washington." - EchoStar in ESPN Talks, Holds Line on ABC Family - Daily News (12/31/2001)
The December 28th Reuters offers a look at the escalating confrontation between EchoStar Communications Corp. and the Walt Disney Company. - Disney, EchoStar battle heats up - Orlando Sentinel (12/28/2001)
The December 28th Orlando Sentinel examines the battle between Disney and EchoStar. - Walt Disney's Cable Battle Intensifies - Los Angeles Times (12/28/2001)
The December 28th Los Angeles Times reports the conflict between Disney and EchoStar is heating up. - Disney sues Echostar over plans to dump ABC Family channel - Orange County Register (12/19/2001)
The December 19th Orange County Register reports a subsidary of the Disney Company is suing Echostar claiming their decision to dump ABC Family from the Dish Network lineup is a violation of their contract. - Disney's War With Cable, Satellite Firms Heats Up - Los Angeles Times (12/19/2001)
The December 19th Los Angeles Times reports a subsidary of the Disney Company is suing Echostar claiming their decision to dump ABC Family from the Dish Network lineup is a violation of their contract. - EchoStar Says Its Within Contractual Rights to Drop ABC Family - Bloomberg News (12/19/2001)
The December 19th Bloomberg News offers EchoStar's response to the lawsuit filed by a Disney subsidary over EchoStar's decision to drop ABC Family. - Dish network aims to drop ABC Family - Hollywood Reporter (12/18/2001)
According to the December 17th Hollywood Reporter EchoStar's Dish Network is seeking to drop Disney's ABC Family channel due to the networks' high per-subscriber cable rates. - Comcast-Adelphia deal might touch Disney - Los Angeles Times (1/10/2001)
Just days after the Disney Company and Comcast reached a favorable programming agreement Comcast and Adelphia have made a swap deal. Whether Adelphia will maintain the Comcast - Disney agreement is uncertain. - Comcast and The Walt Disney Company Announce Comprehensive Distribution Agreement - Press Release (1/2/2001)
Comcast and the Walt Disney Company announce comprehensive distribution agreement. - Cable One, Disney Make Up - Multichannel.com (12/29/2000)
The dispute between Cable One and the Disney Company has been resolved. - Cable One Threatens Disney Drop - Multichannel.com (12/21/2000)
Ohio area Cable One may drop the Disney Channel. - Comcast, Disney Square Off - MSNBC (11/29/2000)
The Disney Company has demanded that Comcast cable carry its SoapNet channel and move the Disney Channel to the basic cable lineup or it will pull ABC from the cable distributor. - Cable System May Drop Disney As Cost Increases - Biloxi Sun (11/15/2000)
Cable One may drop the Disney Channel from its offerings in order to keep cable fees within the range they prefer for their customers. - Comcast, Disney Negotiations Drag On - CableWorld (11/1/2000)
ComCast cable provider and the Disney company continue their negotiations for a retransmission deal. - Disney Dispute May Affect PA Cable - Associated Press (10/26/2000)
Philadelphia cable users may lose ABC due to a disagreement between Comcast Cable and The Walt Disney Co. - Disney and Time Warner sign 7 year deal - Los Angeles Times (5/26/2000)
Details of a seven year cable deal signed by Disney and Time Warner. - Time Warner, Disney reach tentative agreement - CBS Market Watch (5/18/2000)
Time Warner Cable and the Disney company have reached a tentative agreement and hope to have the details of an agreement to announce soon. - Consumers respond to recent Time Warner / Disney dispute - Orange County Register (5/3/2000)
Some cable consumers responded to the recent Time Warner / Disney tiff by switching to satellite while others dropped Disney channels off their cable system. - ABC Back - Los Angeles Times (5/3/2000)
The May 3rd Los Angeles Times reports Disney appears to have this round and is pushing even harder. The article offers quotes from Disney, Time-Warner and FCC officials. - ABC restored to Time Warner Systems - MSNBC (5/2/2000)
Disney and Time Warner have signed an extension and ABC has been placed back on the cable systems. - Cable Customers losers in Time Warner / Disney struggle - Orange County Register (5/2/2000)
The dispute between Time-Warner and Disney will drive up the prices of cable. - Time Warner Drops Disney-Owned ABC Affiliates - Los Angeles Times (5/1/2000)
Time-Warner cable customers in New York City; Los Angeles; Houston; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Toledo, Ohio; and small parts of Time Warner systems in Fresno, Calif., and Philadelphia will be without their local ABC affiliate due to a negotiations breakdown with the Disney Company. - Time-Warner Cable may lose ABC affiliates across the nation - (4/28/2000)
Time-Warner Cable is placing ads on its cable system announces Disney is using its ownership of ABC as leverage in negotiations. - Time Warner & Disney still in talks - Houston Chronicle (3/9/2000)
Negotiations brokedown yesterday between Time Warner & Disney. The ABC affiliate will disappear from cable at noon today if a new extension or deal is not set. - Houston ABC affiliate may go dark on cable - Houston Chronicle (3/8/2000)
While negotiations were still ongoing between Disney/ABC and AOL / Time Warner the local ABC affiliate could have disappeared from the cable services at midnight last night. - Viewers get 7 more days in cable flap - Houston Chronicle (3/3/2000)
Disney/ABC and Time Warner agreed Thursday to delay for seven days the deadline for pulling KTRK-Channel 13 off Time Warner's Houston cable. - ABC affiliate's cable time extended for 24 hours - Houston Chronicle (3/2/2000)
Disney and Time-Warner extended their deadline for reaching a new retransmission agreement, keeping the local ABC affiliate on cable until midnight tonight. - Houston Cable may lose local ABC affiliate - Houston Chronicle (2/29/2000)
ABC said Monday that KTRK-TV will pull its signal from the Time Warner cable system this week, a move that will affect as many as 680,000 subscribers who receive Channel 13 from that service. - Disney Channel to become basic cable? - New York Post (8/31/1999)
Michael Eisner told Time Warner Inc and Comcast Co. that he wants the Disney Channel to be part of basic cable programming.