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DirecTV subscribers unable to watch LSU-USC, Braves-Phillies, US Open due to carriage dispute with Disney

Disney channels went dark on the satellite and streaming TV service as football season begins

ian casselberry
Contributing writer
·4-min read
FILE - In this May 6, 2010 file photo, a DirecTV satellite dish is attached to a roof at a home in Palo Alto, Calif. The government is taking the nation's biggest satellite TV provider to court, accusing DirecTV of misleading millions of consumers about the cost of its programming. The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that its complaint charges DirecTV Inc. with deceptively advertising a discounted 12-month programming package. Consumers weren't clearly told that the package requires a two-year contract, the commission said. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Disney channels went dark on DirecTV during Labor Day weekend, preventing subscribers from watching LSU-USC, Braves-Phillies and US Open tennis. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

DirecTV subscribers wanting to watch the football game between No. 13 LSU and No. 23 USC on ABC, an important NL East matchup with the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on ESPN or US Open tennis on ESPN2 were left frustrated on Sunday night as the satellite and streaming 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.

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.

The agreement between DirecTV and Disney expired at 5 p.m. ET, but channels were kept live until approximately 7 p.m. ET as negotiations continued, according to Awful Announcing.

Soon after Disney channels were blacked out on DirecTV, Disney and ESPN released a joint statement.

"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 statement 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. Or a package which doesn't include sports for viewers who don't want that.

DirecTV responded with its own release:

"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.

"Consumer frustration is at an all-time high as Disney shifts its best producers, most innovative shows, top teams, conferences, and entire leagues to their direct-to-consumer services while making customers pay more than once for the same programming on multiple Disney platforms,” he added.

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.