DirecTV Admits They Are Losing Customers as the Blackout of Disney-Owned Channels Continues
As the DirecTV blackout of Disney-owned channels approaches two weeks, the television provider admits that it is feeling the pain.
While DirecTV has attempted to appease customers by offering bill credits and discounts for other streaming services, the company’s chief marketing officer, Vince Torres, conceded that some customers will not stick around.
Photo: DirecTV
“The way we look at it is a short-term and long-term perspective. In the short term, we were offering a very rich credit to customers that are impacted, and that may never be enough for someone who is annoyed that that they can’t watch their college football game over the weekend,” Torres said at the Goldman Sachs media conference (via Deadline).
The Pressure From DirecTV Customers Is Increasing
Between Monday Night Football, last week’s presidential debate, and the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony, DirecTV customers have missed out on some of the biggest events of the year.
According to Torres, the television provider has seen a significant number of customers leave.
Photo: DIRECTV
“The long term, yes, customers are annoyed, and with that comes customer churn. We have seen customer defections,” he explained.
“It’s not an immaterial amount of customers because any time you have something like this the annoyance factor is very high.”
Disney’s Ratings Have Not Suffered
At the same time that DirecTV is feeling the squeeze from its customers, Disney announced that the first week of Monday Night Football drew a record number of viewers.
Photo: ESPN
Then, as the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on ABC drew near, Disney seemingly magnanimously offered to turn the station back for a three-hour window. DirecTV rejected the deal.
“This was a clear public relations ploy by Disney,” Torres explained. “The debate was available for our customers to watch on a number of different channels, so we didn’t believe there was a customer need.”
What DirecTV Wants
The crux of the stalemate between DirecTV and Disney centers on the type of packages that Disney is offering.
DirecTV has made it clear that they want leaner packages that offer customers more flexibility.
Walt Disney Company
Currently, Disney requires most of its channel packages to include all of its networks, regardless of consumer demand. This means that to access popular channels like ESPN, both providers and consumers must also pay for less-watched channels such as Freeform or Disney Junior, even if they don’t want them.
While DirecTV is putting up a brave face, it remains how long the television provider can hold out amid an exodus of customers. Hopefully, for everyone involved, the two sides come to an agreement soon.
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