Warner Bros. Discovery has sued Sling TV over its unprecedented short-term packages that don’t require a subscription, which the Dish Network offshoot offered in late August – just as the football season was kicking off.
The federal breach-of-contract lawsuit, filed Tuesday in New York, alleges the starting-at-$4.99 packages – good for one day, a weekend or one-week spans – violated their licensing agreement.
Disney filed a similar lawsuit against Dish late last month, accusing the Sling TV parent of presenting the “day pass” offering without warning or consultation. Both suits seek unspecified damages and an order to block further short-term package offerings, which bypass traditional, month-to-month subscription models.
“Sling TV’s new offerings, which they made available without our knowledge or consent, violate the terms of our existing license agreement,” a Disney representative said at the time. “We have asked the court to require Dish to comply with our deal when it distributes our programming.”
The mini-bundles give Sling TV customers access to 34 channels in the Sling Orange tier, including ESPN, Disney Channel, TNT, ABC, and Food Network. Sling TV’s Day Pass is priced at $4.99 and is good for 24 hours; customers can also choose between the $9.99 Weekend Pass and $14.99 Week Pass.
According to the lawsuit obtained by TheWrap, Warner Bros. Discovery argues – as did Disney – that the passes”fundamentally disrupt this industry-standard model by allowing customers to purchase access to the most sought-after programming, such as major sports events, essentially a la carte for a fraction of the cost that the consumer would have had to pay to watch the event on a pay-per-view basis.”
“While we value our partnership with DISH, this program violates the terms of our agreement,” a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesman told TheWrap. “We hope this issue is quickly and amicably resolved.”
“Sling TV has broken the mold of expensive, rigid bundles with flexible Sling Orange Day, Weekend and Week Pass subscriptions – pay-as-you-want instant access,” a representative for Dish Network parent company Echostar told TheWrap. “This customer-first model challenges the old guard’s outdated pricing playbook, exposing their dependence on market power and resistance to change. With no long-term contracts and lower costs, Sling puts control back in the hands of subscribers, signaling a shift toward competition that puts consumer value ahead of monopolistic control.
“EchoStar, parent company of Sling TV and DISH TV, has a long track record of fighting for its customers. We introduced ad-skipping technology with DISH TV, we were the first to offer live streaming TV with Sling, we led the charge to bring local channels to satellite TV, and we have always negotiated with programmers to keep consumer costs as low as possible. Our Sling Orange Day, Weekend and Week Pass subscriptions are just another way we’re fighting to bring customers the programming they want with the flexibility they deserve.”
