Disney Dealt A Blow In Sling TV Day Pass Lawsuit
Disney has been dealt a blow in its fight with Sling TV over their offering of day passes, allowing customers to take out short-term subscriptions to Sling TV’s services, often to take advantage of ESPN’s coverage, without subscribing for a full month, instead just offering day and weekend passes.
The use of Sling’s TV Pass also became very useful to YouTube TV customers over the past few weeks during the carriage dispute, who were able to jump in for just a day to catch their live sports.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian decided that there was nothing in the existing contract stopping Sling TV from offering a day pass and stopped the emergency temporary injunction from going into place. Though the court case will continue and now move into discovery, before an eventual trial, should it get that far.
The judge said that Disney had failed to demonstrate either a strong likelihood of success on the merits or that it would suffer irreparable harm without immediate court intervention. As Disney had said that by offering day passes to its content, it was undercutting its new streaming service, ESPN Unlimited and traditional linear services.
One of the biggest problems for Disney, was that it didn’t specifically state that short-term subscription offers could be made available, as the contract only described users as a “Network Subscriber”.
Seth Van Sickel, Senior Vice President, Sling TV said in a statement regarding the deal:
“The court’s decision is a win for consumers and a validation of what Sling stands for. For too long, traditional ‘big media’ companies have intentionally stifled innovation and forced customers to pay for more content than they want or need. We believe customers deserve the flexibility to stream the content they want, whenever they want it, at a price they can afford. Consumers deserve affordable TV, not bound by long-term contracts or bloated offerings. The $1 Day Pass is our way of saying thank you to the customers we fight for every day.
This fight isn’t just about Sling. It’s about the future of television, one where consumers have the freedom and power to watch what they want, when and how they want. EchoStar, Sling TV’s parent company, has a 45-year legacy of empowering consumers and challenging industry norms. From ad-skipping technology, to bringing local channels to satellite TV, to being the first to offer live streaming television, EchoStar has consistently innovated to lower costs and expand choice for customers.”
To celebrate, Sling TV has launched a special promotion from today, through to November 30th 2025, for new and returning customers, who can get access to a Sling Day Pass for just $1. The company has said that this court win reinforces its mission to redefine television by championing consumer choice and flexibility. The Sling Day, Weekend, and Week Pass subscriptions offer access to live sports, entertainment and news without a long-term contract, giving customers pay-as-you-want, instant access to top live channels at an affordable price.
However, the Judge did say that this might only be a short-term win for Sling TV, as while the current licensing agreement is still in place, there is less than a year left on that contract, with renegotiations set to begin soon. So Disney is very likely to prohibit short-term passes in future contracts.
Roger’s Take: No doubt this is a win for Sling TV and a blow for Disney’s new ESPN streaming service. But it’s only going to be a short win, as I can’t see this loophole hanging around for long. Ultimately, with the launch of ESPN Unlimited and the recent purchase of Fubo TV, Disney is in a much stronger position when negotiations begin.
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