Sports fans were left reeling on Sunday night after a major carrier dispute left millions of DirecTV subscribers unable to watch several major sporting events.
Disney Entertainment channels, including ESPN, went dark on DirectTV during the U.S. Open after both sides failed to reach a new carriage agreement – an issue that left tennis fans unable to watch the heavily anticipated fourth round matchup between American Frances Tiafoe and Alexei Popyrin of Australia.
Coverage was pulled about a half-hour before the match.
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"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 U.S. Open said in a statement.
"We are hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible."
Fans could view the match on other streaming services, but as the U.S. Open pointed out, they were "not free on these platforms unless there is a free trial option."
College football fans were also hit with the blackout 10 minutes before the start of the LSU-USC season opener airing on ABC.
Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairmen of Disney Entertainment, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro released a joint statement calling out DirecTV for "deny[ing] millions of subscribers" coverage during two major sporting events.
"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. 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."
DirecTV, which has over 11.3 million subscribers, said Disney offered an extension to keep the channels on the air in exchange for DirecTV having to waive all future legal claims that its behavior is anticompetitive.
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"The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system," Rob Thun, DirecTV’s chief content officer, said in a statement. "Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions. 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."
This marks the second year in a row that ESPN has gone off the air due to a major carrier dispute. For nearly two weeks last year, Disney and Spectrum were at an impasse before finally reaching an agreement hours before the first Monday night game of the NFL season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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