According to a source familiar with the attempted ad buys, Disney has declined to air an ad for Verizon's Custom TV on its owned stations in New York and Philadelphia, as well as on WEPN (ESPN) radio.
In addition, Fox's WNYW New York has turned down the ad, as has 21st Century FOx-owned Yes Network.
Fox and Disney have both taken issue with the new "skinny TV" bundled offering from Verizon, saying it violates their contract with the telco video operator's FiOS service.
"This anticompetitive tactic is only hurting consumers," said a Verizon spokesperson "As we've noted, FiOS Custom TV is a product consumers want, and it’s all about consumer choice. We believe we are allowed to offer consumers and small businesses this choice and flexibility under our existing contracts. The bottom line is that FiOS customers deserve choice."
“As we said in our original statement earlier this week, we prefer to keep our commercial discussions confidential, and will continue to address our concerns directly and privately with Verizon,” said Fox in a statement.
A Disney spokesperson was not immediately available for comment at press time late Thursday.
