Disney Denied Preliminary Injunction in Lawsuit Against Dish — Update

By Nicholas G. Miller

A federal judge denied Disney's request for a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against Dish Network, allowing Dish's Sling TV to continue offering short-term passes.

In August, Dish began offering short-term passes to its Sling Orange TV service, which includes networks such as Disney's ESPN, for a day, weekend or week. Disney claimed the passes violated its licensing agreement with Dish and requested the court to intervene to bar the sale of the passes.

In a ruling filed Tuesday, a U.S. district court judge ruled that Disney had not shown a likelihood of success in proving that Dish is violating its licensing agreement and had also not demonstrated irreparable harm that warrants a preliminary injunction.

"While we were unable to obtain preliminary relief to stop Dish/Sling's sales of Day Pass, Weekend Pass and Week Pass, we look forward to vindicating our position at trial where all the facts and evidence will be presented," a Disney spokesperson said.

"We believe customers deserve the flexibility to stream the content they want, whenever they want it, at a price they can afford," said Seth Van Sickel, senior vice president of Sling TV.

Dish Network is owned by EchoStar.

Write to Nicholas G. Miller at nicholas.miller@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2025 12:26 ET (17:26 GMT)