College football fans with DirectTV got an unwanted surprise on Sunday when Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, went dark just before the start of LSU’s game against USC.
The move comes after a distribution deal that was being negotiated by the two sides fell apart and ended up with DirectTV customers being left in the lurch ahead of one of the premier games on the Week 1 college football schedule.
The blackout also comes amid the US Open taking place in Queens, which also airs on ESPN, and the start of the NFL season, with the Jets and 49ers slated to play on “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 9.
“DirecTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we head into the final week of the US Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season,” ESPN said in a statement. “While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.
“We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”
The programming distributor countered with a statement of their own to the Los Angeles Times.
“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV, said in a statement to the outlet. “They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers — making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price.”
Neither side is likely to win sympathy from consumers who were tuning into ESPN for the game between LSU and USC or the U.S. Open, many of which took to social media to air out their frustrations.
The USTA and US Open are also expressed their frustrated over the situation in a statement on Sunday night.
“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.”
Disney found itself in another carriage dispute last year, but with Charter Communications that lasted 12 days before the dispute ended on Sept. 11, 2023.
“Well @DIRECTV blacked out ABC and ESPN after I ordered a large delivery order to have friends over for LSU-USC. I will be canceling and switching to YouTube TV again I guess!” fumed one person on X on Sunday night.
Another user posted a video of the network going dark in the middle of the Brandon Nakashima, Alexander Zverev match taking place at the US Open.
“WTF DirectTV and ESPN,” the caption read.
Another used demoned the timing of it all:
“@directv just did is grimey. To do this to your customers in the middle of the US Open, MLB, and college football on a holiday weekend when millions of people are watching,” the person wrote. “@espn is bad business for YOUR customers.”
