Sling TV’s Day Passes are great. ESPN owner Disney wants to quash them

Sling TV, a streaming TV operator, introduced a $5 Day Pass that provides 24-hour access to its Sling Orange package, which includes ESPN and other channels. This has caught the attention of Disney, the owner of ESPN, who is not happy with this short-term subscription model. Disney has filed a federal lawsuit against Sling, claiming that the Day Pass was rolled out "without our knowledge or consent" and that it "violates the terms of our existing license agreement." Disney prefers customers to commit to at least a month-long subscription, or even its new ESPN streaming service, rather than a one-day access. The lawsuit highlights the tension between the traditional pay-TV model, which relies on lengthy subscriber commitments, and the growing demand for more flexible, short-term streaming options. Sling's Day Pass offers consumers the convenience of accessing content for a single day, which could potentially disrupt the industry's long-standing business practices. The outcome of the lawsuit will depend on the specifics of the deal between Sling and Disney, but the article suggests that the Day Pass idea is a consumer-friendly innovation that could represent the future of streaming TV.