A federal judge in New York dealt a significant setback to Disney and its ESPN division on Wednesday, reportedly rejecting the company’s emergency request to halt DISH Network’s Sling service from offering daily and weekend passes that grant short-term access to ESPN and other sports channels.
In an 11-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian denied Disney’s motion for a preliminary injunction, concluding that the entertainment giant had failed to demonstrate either a strong likelihood of success on the merits or that it would suffer irreparable harm without immediate court intervention.
At the heart of the dispute is whether Sling Orange’s short-term passes violate the licensing agreement DISH signed with Disney for carriage of ESPN and other networks. Disney has argued that the agreement restricts distribution only to traditional “subscribers,” a term it interprets to require recurring monthly commitments rather than one-time or limited-duration purchases. The company contended that allowing consumers to buy access for a single day or weekend—often to watch just one game—undermines the long-standing business model that has sustained ESPN’s premium pricing.
“The court’s decision is a win for consumers and a validation of what Sling stands for,” said Seth Van Sickel, Senior Vice President, Sling TV. “For too long, traditional ‘big media’ companies have intentionally stifled innovation and forced customers to pay for more content than they want or need. We believe customers deserve the flexibility to stream the content they want, whenever they want it, at a price they can afford. Consumers deserve affordable TV, not bound by long-term contracts or bloated offerings. The $1 Day Pass is our way of saying thank you to the customers we fight for every day.”
Judge Subramanian disagreed with Disney’s narrow reading of the contract. He pointed out that the license itself contains a specific definition of “Network Subscriber” broad enough to encompass the passes. Even when considering common dictionary definitions cited by Disney, the judge found that a subscription need not be indefinitely recurring to qualify as such. A fixed-term access period, he reasoned, still falls within ordinary understandings of the word, especially when the contract language does not explicitly demand ongoing monthly billing.
The ruling also dismissed Disney’s claim that the passes directly threaten its standalone ESPN streaming service, tentatively branded ESPN Unlimited. While Disney presented evidence suggesting potential customer overlap, the judge described the harm as speculative at this stage and, crucially, quantifiable in monetary terms. Courts typically reserve preliminary injunctions for situations where financial damages cannot adequately remedy the injury; here, the judge concluded that any lost revenue could be addressed through normal damages if Disney ultimately prevails at trial.
The decision arrives amid sweeping transformation in the television landscape. For decades, major sports programmers like ESPN insisted on broad channel bundles and long-term carriage commitments from distributors, ensuring steady revenue even from households that rarely watched sports. That model is rapidly eroding as cord-cutting accelerates and consumers demand more flexible, lower-cost options. DISH’s Sling Orange passes represent one of the most aggressive experiments yet: a sports-centric package available by the day or weekend rather than by the month.
Judge Subramanian noted that Disney retains a straightforward contractual remedy. The current licensing agreement expires in less than a year, and both sides acknowledged during oral arguments that renegotiation will begin soon. If Disney wishes to prohibit short-term passes in the future, the judge observed, it can bargain for that restriction at the negotiating table rather than seeking emergency judicial relief based on the existing contract.
The ruling does not resolve the underlying breach-of-contract lawsuit, which will now proceed to discovery and potentially trial. For now, however, Sling Orange customers can continue purchasing daily access for as little as a few dollars or weekend access for slightly more, providing sports fans with an inexpensive alternative to full-month subscriptions or traditional cable packages.
The outcome underscores the growing tension between legacy media companies attempting to protect decades-old revenue streams and distributors racing to capture younger, budget-conscious viewers who refuse to pay for channels they seldom watch. With ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service looming and multiple “skinny” sports bundles already on the market, the coming round of carriage negotiations promises to be among the most consequential in the industry’s history.
Please add Cord Cutters News as a source for your Google News feed HERE. Please follow us on Facebook and X for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.