from the this-is-why-we-can’t-have-nice-things dept
Earlier this month, Dish’s Sling TV unveiled a rare bit of innovation in an increasingly enshittified streaming video market. They began offering what they called “mini-subscriptions,” allowing users to subscribe to live streaming TV for the day, weekend, or a full week for prices starting at around $5. It was a nice option for folks who don’t want, or can’t afford, increasingly costly monthly subscriptions.
But alas, the idea may not last. ABC/Disney/ESPN quickly sued to scuttle SlingTV’s offerings (see docket), claiming they violate the companies’ existing carriage agreements:
“Sling TV’s new offerings, which they made available without our knowledge or consent, violate the terms of our existing license agreement,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement provided to Deadline. “We have asked the court to require Dish to comply with our deal when it distributes our programming.”
Disney claims that any contract length shorter than a month is outside of the authorized scope of existing carriage agreement. A Sling TV spokesperson said Disney’s lawsuit is “meritless”:
“We are aware of what has been filed and believe Disney’s lawsuit is meritless. We will vigorously defend our right to bring customers a viewing experience that fits their lives, on their schedule and on their terms.
We are excited about our new pass subscriptions and the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve received from fans looking for simple, affordable ways to enjoy the content they love.”
While Disney may or may not be legally correct (the exact terms of these agreements aren’t made public), it’s still annoying. In large part because the streaming video sector has been busy lately demonstrating that they’re all out of original ideas and want to make nickel-and-diming consumers a central pillar of their business strategy. Just like the traditional cable giants they once disrupted.
Streaming executives have recently been spending their time trying to goose quarterly earnings by relentlessly raising prices, harassing people for sharing streaming passwords, refusing to pay creatives their owned residuals, and proposing shitty, pointless mergers that largely result in layoffs and shittier products.
Streaming execs have forgotten all of the lessons from the very recent past. They’re increasingly behaving just like the cable giants they disrupted by failing to innovate, refusing to compete seriously on price, and generally being obnoxious assholes. Whether via piracy or innovative new competitors, they’re destined to see the same fate as the monolithic cable giants that preceded them, at which point, as per tradition, they’ll blame everything (VPNs!) and everyone (generational entitlement!) but themselves.
Filed Under: carriage, competition, pricing, streaming, tv, video
Companies: disney, espn, sling
