The U.S. Open’s coverage was abruptly halted for DirecTV customers on Sunday night due to a contract dispute with Disney.
Disney has blocked access to ESPN, ABC and other Disney-owned channels for approximately 11 million DirecTV subscribers after ongoing distribution negotiations fell through. The blackout occurred just before the start of the college football season with LSU vs. USC. It’s no coincidence that this heavy-handed move came during prime time at the U.S. Open and just before the start of the NFL season, as it provides an incentive for both sides to reach an agreement. But it also means that millions of customers will suffer the consequences if the negotiations fall apart.
According to a DirecTV statement, “Disney is trying to get consumers to pay for channels they don’t watch,” but DirecTV wants to give customers more flexibility in terms of the channels they want to pay for. “The only magic with Disney is that they can raise prices and remove content at the same time,” Chief Content Officer Rob Sun said in a press release.
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A statement from Disney said that while the company is willing to offer channel flexibility, “we will not enter into any agreements that undervalue our portfolio of television channels or programming.” Just one year ago, Disney took the same action against cable company Spectrum, resulting in a 10-day suspension. So one thing is certain: Customers are missing out during the biggest live sports moment of the year.
The customer expressed anger towards X and indicated that he would cancel his account if the problem was not resolved.
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DirecTV took responsibility and lost customers as a result, but users blamed Disney, which owns the channels and is demanding more funding, as the “root cause” and the “bad guy.”
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Meanwhile, as the battle between DirecTV and Disney continues, streaming platforms that don’t require cable subscriptions, like YouTube TV and Fubo, are sitting back, grabbing some popcorn.
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