DirecTV subscribers wanting to watch the LSU–USC football game on ABC, Braves–Phillies on ESPN or US Open tennis on ESPN2 were left frustrated on Sunday night as the satellite TV provider pulled coverage in a carriage dispute with Disney.
Disney channels went dark on the service for its 11 million subscribers just after 7 p.m. ET, less than a half-hour before LSU and USC were scheduled to kick off from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
All Disney channels on DirecTV are dark right now, including ABC in markets where Disney owns the channel.
DirecTV subscribers in markets where other companies own the ABC affiliate have not experienced any disruption. https://t.co/l7V27jf5x2
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) September 1, 2024
Viewers in markets where ABC is not on a Disney-owned channel are still able to watch network coverage. However, ABC owns stations in large markets including the top four in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Several subscribers on social media commented on programming being cut as events were ongoing.
“DirecTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we had into the final week of the US Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season,” said a statement from The Walt Disney Company and ESPN shortly after the channels went dark.
“While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distrbutors,” the statement continued, “we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.”
The “flexibility” mentioned in the statment refers to DirecTV wanting different packages for the Disney networks. For instance, a sports-centered package that would include ESPN and ABC with an option to bundle the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services with a DirecTV subscription.
“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” said DirecTV chief content officer Rob Thun in a statement. “Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions.”
The US Open also released a statement to fans unable to watch ESPN’s coverage due to the carriage dispute.
“It is disappointing that fans and viewers around the country will not have the opportunity to watch the greatest athletes in our sport take part in the 2024 US Open due to an unresolved negotiation between DirecTV and Disney, resulting in the loss of access to ESPN,” the statement read. “We are hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
DirecTV subscribers hoping that negotiations with Disney are resolved before Saturday’s Week 2 college football coverage or next Monday’s Week 1 Monday Night Football matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets may still be shut out by then. A carriage dispute between Disney and Spectrum TV last year went on for 12 days before being settled.
The DirecTV-Disney carriage dispute occurs just over a week after Venu Sports – a streaming service incorporating ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery – was blocked from launching as part of an antitrust lawsuit filed by streaming competitor FuboTV.
