Media and entertainment conglomerate Disney has agreed to pay millions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit initiated by subscribers of three streaming platforms.
According to the settlement administrator’s portal, Disney will pay $50 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit that was consolidated and filed in October of 2023. The class action lawsuit alleged that Disney engaged in anti-competitive practices that resulted in the prices of streaming live pay television services rising by over 100% in some cases.
The suit claims Disney used its ownership of must-have channels and especially ESPN to require streaming platforms to include them in base subscription packages through carriage agreements. Because these channels carry high licensing fees, this allegedly forced services like YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream to raise their overall base prices to cover the cost.
“The lawsuit alleges Defendant [Disney] violated federal antitrust law and various state antitrust and consumer-protection laws by engaging in various forms of conduct to raise the prices of Streaming Live Pay Television (“SLPTV”) and that these acts caused the Settlement Classes to incur damages.”
Disney denies any wrongdoing.
Anyone who purchased a YouTube TV or a DirecTV subscription between April 1st of 2019 and March 31st of 2026 is eligible to claim compensation. The amount that each subscriber will receive will be determined on a pro rata basis and will be proportionate to the length of the settlement class member’s YouTube TV or DirecTV subscription.
Claims must be submitted by September 8th. The payments will be sent once the court gives the settlement its final approval.
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