Rob Thun: Last News

Disney and DirecTV remain at the bargaining table, trying to reach a renewal of their current distribution agreement, which expires Sunday.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor ESPN and other Disney-owned channels have gone dark on DirecTV after the sides failed to come to terms on a new carriage agreement, a business impasse that reflects the broader economic pain spreading throughout the pay TV sector. The blackout, coming on a big weekend for college football and during ESPN’s coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, affects most of DirecTV’s 11 million-plus subscribers in the U.S.

DirecTV and Disney are going down to the wire with carriage renewal negotiations ahead of the current deal’s expiration on Sunday.

DirecTV will allow customers to opt out of local TV stations and pay a lower monthly rate.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tired of forking over hundreds of dollars for cable channels that aren’t always available? DirecTV may have a solution, albeit a controversial one. The satellite content distributor said Sunday it would give its subscribers the choice to “opt out” of receiving the feeds of local TV stations “for as long as they want,” and get a discount for doing so.

Dozens of local TV stations owned by Tegna, most of them NBC and CBS affiliates, have gone dark on DirecTV in a carriage dispute.

A new carriage dispute has been initiated between Nexstar Media Group and DirecTV forcing more than 150 local TV stations to go dark.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Just in time for Earth Day, DirecTV has sealed a deal to add the environmental lifestyle channel EarthxTV to its lineup. EarthxTV will be added to the mix for DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse customers starting Saturday, April 15. This marks the widest distribution deal to date for EarthxTV. “EarthxTV is a great addition to bring to our DirecTV entertainment lineup in this week leading up to Earth Day, and we look forward to offering the service for years to come,” said DirecTV chief content officer Rob Thun in a statement. “We’re proud to engage with organizations that help benefit our environment and offer support to their grassroots efforts in the communities where our employees live and work.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor DirecTV is trading one kind of football for another. After agreeing to part ways with the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, DirecTV is picking up soccer. The satellite-programming distributor will become the national provider of MLS Season Pass, a new subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer, to commercial establishments such as bars, lounges and restaurants. The offering is knows as DirecTV for Business. “DirecTV for Business boasts an unrivaled nationwide network of more than 300,000 venues where local sports fans gather who count upon us to deliver the very best in live action,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV, in a statement. “We welcome the addition of MLS Season Pass to an already market-leading lineup of sports properties that our commercial customers can continue to receive seamlessly through their existing satellite equipment and offer to their patrons.”

Amazon and DirecTV have come up with an answer to the question many NFL fans have had since the tech giant locked up exclusive rights to NFL Thursday Night Football: Will the game be on at the corner bar?

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSatellite-distributor DirecTV, which weeks ago unveiled plans to drop conservative outlet OAN, still wants to offer viewers right-leaning content.The company said it had already begun to offer Fox Nation, the subscription-video service that acts as a companion service to Fox News Channel. Fox Nation is being made available as a “premium add-on” for DirecTV subscribers, the company said.