In a recent legal development, a federal judge in New York has denied Disney’s attempt to block Sling TV’s short-term passes. The ruling by US District Judge Arun Subramanian rejected Disney’s claim of ‘irreparable harm’ caused by Sling TV’s one-day access offerings.
The dispute arose when Sling TV introduced temporary passes allowing viewers to stream live content for as low as $4.99 for a single day. Some of the channels included in these passes are owned by Disney, such as ESPN and Disney Channel.
Disney argued that these passes violated their agreement with Sling TV, which mandates content access through monthly subscriptions. However, the judge’s ruling highlighted the lack of a specified minimum subscription length in the contract, indicating that the passes fell within the agreement’s definition of a subscriber.
Furthermore, the court emphasized that Disney failed to demonstrate how these passes would negatively impact its reputation or divert customers from its new ESPN Unlimited service. The ruling noted the absence of evidence showing customer loss attributed to the passes.
Despite this legal victory for Sling TV, Disney’s breach-of-contract lawsuit against the streaming service remains ongoing, underscoring the evolving dynamics of streaming service agreements.
Source: The Verge