Walt Disney Co. networks, including ESPN and ABC stations, have been removed from DirecTV after negotiations between the satellite company and the media giant broke down Sunday.
The blackout affects about 11 million customer households.
To make matters worse for DirecTV subscribers, the outage came just before a highly anticipated college football game between Southern California and Louisiana State on ABC. It also comes amid ESPN’s ongoing coverage of the U.S. Open.
Following the blackout, both DirectTV and ESPN accused each other.
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro released a joint statement with Disney co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, saying that “DirecTV has decided to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we approach the final week of the U.S. Open and prepare for college football and the NFL season openers.”
In their statement, Disney/ESPN/ABC regretted the timing of the DirecTV blackout.
DirectTV accuses Disney of charging viewers for channels they don’t watch
DirecTV chief content officer Rob Thun responded with a statement of his own: “Walt Disney Co. once again refuses to be accountable to consumers, distribution partners and now the American judicial system.”
In its press release, DirectTV accused Disney of taking an “anti-consumer approach” that forces “DirectTV and other television distributors… to pay for channels they don’t watch.”
Other broadcasts that could be affected include ESPN’s Monday Night Football, which premieres Sept. 9 when the San Francisco 49ers take on the New York Jets.
Additionally, ABC affiliates owned directly by Disney have also been removed from DictTV, which could cause viewers to miss out on local news, their favorite game shows like “Wheel of Fortune” and talk shows like “Good Morning American” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Emma Navarro (left) hugs Coco Gauff after winning the round of 16 of the women’s singles tournament
USC Trojans No. 1 Zachariah Branch gestures to the crowd before the start of Sunday’s game
A similar dispute between Disney and Spectrum TV ended in a 12-day blackout in 2023, but that may not offer any indication of how long this DirecTV blackout might last.
Fans online were divided on who to blame.
“@DIRECTV Fix it now or you’ll lose a long time customer,” one wrote on X. “All I watch is sports. Missing the Braves game on my holiday weekend.”
Another added: ‘Yes I will be cancelling my @DIRECTV asap.’
Others blamed Disney.
“This keeps happening with Disney Channel,” wrote one critic. “That’s why I get disappointed every time ESPN gets playoff extensions.”
Pay TV continues to struggle with cancelled subscriptions. The industry lost 2.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024.
Disney is known for charging distributors $10 per subscriber per month for ESPN’s array of networks, revenue the media giant uses to purchase broadcast rights to the league.