Dish, Sling TV Reach Handshake Deal to Bring Disney-Owned Channels Back Including ESPN, Disney Channel, ABC

After two days of being dark, Dish and Disney have reached a “handshake deal” which will see more than 17 Disney-owned channels — including ESPN, Disney Channel, SEC Network, ACC Network, and local ABC affiliates (on Dish) return to the service.

In a statement to The Streamable, Disney said:

“We have reached a handshake agreement with DISH/Sling TV, which properly reflects fair market value and terms for The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled content. As a result, we are pleased to restore our portfolio of networks on a temporary basis while both parties work to finalize a new deal.”

In a note on their company website, Sling TV posted:

“All of your Disney & ESPN channels have been restored! We sincerely apologize for your interruption in programming. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

As of now, it’s unclear whether there will be any changes to the packaging of the channels on DISH or Sling TV.

The channels involved in the dispute were:

The dispute came at a particularly important time for sports fans as we are about to start the NBA and NHL seasons, MLB playoffs, and are in the thick of the NFL and college football seasons.

This is the second major dispute between Disney and a live TV streaming service in the last year. Last December, Disney channels went dark for 36 hours after Disney and YouTube TV were unable to reach a deal. Ultimately, the two sides were able to come to an agreement for the channels to return.

Most recently, Dish and Sling TV lost GSN for three weeks as part of a carriage dispute. A similar impasse took place between Dish/Sling and FOX back in September 2019, which lasted 10 days before FOX, FS1, and the Big Ten Network returned to the service.