For the second consecutive year, ESPN has been removed from a major television provider just as the U.S. Open tennis tournament kicks off and amidst the start of the college football season.
On Sunday night, channels from Disney Entertainment, including ESPN, stopped broadcasting on DirecTV after the two companies failed to negotiate a new agreement.
This decision has frustrated many sports fans, who took to social media to express their dissatisfaction. The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) also voiced its disappointment over another television dispute.
ESPN was in the middle of airing the fourth round of the U.S. Open when it went dark on DirecTV at 7:20 p.m. EDT, just 30 minutes before a highly anticipated match between American player Frances Tiafoe and Australian player Alexei Popyrin. Tiafoe had previously reached the semifinals of the 2022 U.S. Open, while Popyrin had recently eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic.
The USTA issued a statement saying, “It’s unfortunate that viewers across the country won’t have the chance to watch top athletes in our sport during the 2024 U.S. Open because of unresolved negotiations between DirecTV and Disney. We hope this issue can be resolved promptly.”
The situation unfolded just 10 minutes before the start of a college football game featuring No. 13 LSU taking on No. 23 Southern California in Las Vegas.
Viewers in several locations, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Raleigh, North Carolina, also saw ABC-owned stations go offline on DirecTV.
Last year, a similar standoff took place when Disney and Spectrum, which is the second-largest cable TV provider in the U.S., could not agree for nearly 12 days, finally reaching a deal just hours before the season’s first Monday Night Football game.
DirecTV indicated that Disney had offered to keep the channels available in exchange for DirecTV agreeing to drop any future legal claims regarding anti-competitive behavior.
Rob Thun, DirecTV’s chief content officer, criticized Disney, stating, “The Walt Disney Company is again avoiding responsibility to consumers, distribution partners, and even the American judicial system. Disney creates alternate realities, but in the real world, companies should be accountable for their actions. They are prioritizing maximum profits and control at the expense of consumers, making it harder for them to choose the shows and sports they want at a fair price.”
DirecTV services about 11.3 million subscribers, which ranks it as the third-largest pay TV provider in the nation, according to Leichtman Research Group.
Jointly, Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairpersons of Disney Entertainment, along with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, called on DirecTV to finalize a deal. They added that while they are open to providing DirecTV with flexible terms like those offered to other distributors, they refuse to accept an agreement that undervalues their array of television channels and programming. They stressed their significant investment in delivering top entertainment, news, and sports brands, which is what viewers expect and deserve.
This ongoing conflict highlights a broader struggle between networks and distributors over content delivery. Many distributors and subscribers wish to purchase channels individually instead of settling for bundled packages. Additionally, distributors are growing frustrated as production companies increasingly release premium content on direct-to-consumer platforms before it airs on traditional channels, as was the case with the miniseries “Shogun” appearing on Hulu ahead of FX.
Thun remarked, “Consumer frustration is higher than ever as Disney transitions its best producers, innovative shows, and top sports teams to direct-to-consumer services while expecting customers to pay multiple times for the same content across different Disney platforms. Disney’s magic comes in the form of rising prices and the disappearance of its content.”
In addition to all ESPN channels and ABC-owned stations, other Disney-branded channels like Freeform, FX, and National Geographic are also unavailable on DirecTV.
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