Sling TV Countersues Disney Over Short-Term Streaming Passes

One of the best developments of 2025 was Sling’s introduction of short-term streaming passes. You can watch a selection of their channels for as little as one day for $4.99. Because that channel package includes ESPN, Disney sued Sling in August, claiming that the short-term package violated their agreement.

A judge ruled against Disney in November, and Sling celebrated with a short-lived sale on the passes. Now, Sling is using the “Uno Reverse Card” and suing Disney over the dispute.

Sling filed two lawsuits today. One asks the court to dismiss Disney’s amended complaint against Sling. The other brings federal antitrust and breach of contract claims against Disney.

A Disney spokesperson said, “Dish’s counterclaims have no merit and are nothing more than a tactic to distract from their own misconduct, and we look forward to vindicating our position in court.” 

What Channels Are Included in Sling’s Short-Term Passes?

The short-term pass is available for 24 hours ($4.99), 3 days ($9.99), or 7 days ($14.99). The Sling Pass unlocks the 34 channels of the service’s Orange package for your chosen period of time.

This option is a great choice if you need to watch a one-off live event on ESPN.

From court filings, we know that Disney forces distributors who want to carry ESPN to pay $9.42 per subscriber per month. That’s just for one channel. ESPN’s standalone app costs $29.99/month. If you want a monthly package with the channel and others, your next cheapest option is Sling’s Orange monthly plan ($45.99).

So you can see why Disney doesn’t want people to be able to tune in for one game.

What Happens Next?

While this battle plays out in court, we have to imagine things will be very contentious when Sling tries to renew its carriage agreement with Disney. It wouldn’t surprise me if Disney just walks away from Sling entirely.

Disney’s Fubo live TV streamer let their agreement with NBC lapse in November and it’s now-lower price suggests they have no intention of repairing that relationship. Disney may be preparing to go it alone, severing relationships with most live TV streamers and forcing the rest of us to sign up for ESPN Unlimited if we want to watch sports.

It may be a good bet on their part. In 2025, 96 of the 100 most-watched live TV events were sports. Football alone made up 92 of last year’s top 100 telecasts.

With the NFL now owning part of ESPN, Sling’s antitrust case may have some merit. But the current federal government seems all-too-willing to roll over for large companies and mergers that will likely harm consumers.

In any case, you still have the option to fire up Sling’s day passes to watch ESPN-exclusive events, and you may as well enjoy it while you can.