06:25 AM EDT, 09/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Walt Disney ( DIS ) and DirecTV traded blame on Sunday as millions of its customers lost access to sports, news, and entertainment programming over the two companies' failure to renew an agreement.

DirecTV blamed Disney ( DIS ) for the impasse, accusing it of demanding consumers pay for streaming services "they either aren't interested in or may already possess."

DirecTV also said that Disney ( DIS ) made last-minute demands that made a deal even more difficult.

Disney ( DIS ) blamed DirecTV for the impasse. "While we're open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we've extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs," Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairs, Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, chair of ESPN ( DIS ), said in a statement.

DirecTV also accused Disney ( DIS ) of shifting its best programs to it own paid streaming services and filling the programming it provides as part of its package deals with lower quality content.

DirecTV also called on other distributors and content providers to meet consumer demands for more control and value.

Disney ( DIS ) called DirecTV's narrative "blatantly false."

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