A federal court in New York has delivered a significant victory to Dish Network and its streaming service Sling TV by denying Warner Bros. Discovery’s request to halt the platform’s innovative short-term subscription offerings. The decision, handed down on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, marks the second favorable ruling for Dish in this ongoing dispute, following a similar outcome in a related case involving Disney, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In August 2025, Sling TV introduced its Day Pass, Weekend Pass (Now 3 Day Pass), and Week Pass options, allowing users to access a bundle of popular channels—including TNT, CNN, ESPN, and others—for as little as $4.99 for a single day. These flexible plans require no long-term commitment, enabling viewers to pay only for the time they need, such as catching a specific sports event or binge-watching a weekend of programming. The offerings emerged just as major sports seasons kicked off, providing an affordable alternative to traditional monthly subscriptions.
Warner Bros. Discovery, along with Disney, swiftly responded by filing breach-of-contract lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The companies argued that these short-term passes violated their existing licensing agreements, which authorize distribution through “subscription services.” They contended that the passes fall outside the permitted scope because they lack the recurring, monthly nature central to the pay-TV industry’s economic model. Media companies rely on steady monthly fees to justify the high costs of acquiring rights to major events, such as multi-week tournaments or ongoing sports leagues, even when individual viewers tune in sporadically.
The core of the dispute revolves around the interpretation of key contractual terms like “subscription” and “subscriber.” The licensing agreements define “Dish OTT Services” as a video programming subscription service distributing multiple linear channels, but they do not explicitly define “subscription” or impose a minimum duration requirement. Warner Bros. Discovery asserted that short-term access disrupts this framework, potentially eroding revenue streams and encouraging other distributors to demand similar flexible terms.
Judge Subramanian, however, found the contract language ambiguous on this point. The agreements lack specific provisions requiring recurring payments or excluding temporary access. The definition of a “service subscriber” as any customer intentionally authorized by Dish to receive the service proved too broad to exclude pass users. The judge also examined ordinary meanings of the term “subscription,” concluding that it could encompass time-limited access without necessarily demanding multiple periods or ongoing commitments. Notably, the sophisticated parties involved had included detailed definitions elsewhere in the contracts but omitted such restrictions here.
The ruling highlighted that pass users still trigger full-month license fee obligations in certain scenarios, such as when active on the 21st day of a month, providing some protection for content owners. While acknowledging that the industry traditionally contemplates monthly subscribers, the court determined that nothing in the agreements explicitly bars partial-month arrangements.
This decision follows a prior denial of a preliminary injunction in the Disney/ESPN case, where the court similarly rejected claims of irreparable harm and found the contract’s subscriber definition sufficiently inclusive. Warner Bros. Discovery now faces the challenge of proving its case at trial, with the possibility that future negotiations will incorporate clearer language to address short-term offerings.
The broader implications for the streaming and pay-TV landscape are substantial. Sling TV positions these passes as a consumer-friendly breakthrough that challenges rigid, expensive bundles and empowers viewers with greater control. As cord-cutting accelerates and competition intensifies, flexible access models could reshape how content is licensed and consumed, potentially pressuring studios to adapt their longstanding reliance on predictable recurring revenue.
While the lawsuits continue toward potential trials, this latest court decision allows Sling TV to maintain its short-term passes, signaling a potential shift toward more flexible viewing options in an evolving media environment.
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