Disney Channels Including ESPN Yanked From DirecTV During US Open

DirecTV subscribers suddenly lost their Disney-owned channels Sunday evening just after 7pm EST, including ABC and ESPN, during the fourth round of US Open tennis on ESPN and just before the start of a USC-LSU college football game on ABC.

But it wasn’t sudden if they had been paying attention to the current carriage dispute between DirecTV and Disney. The distribution deal between the two was set to expire Sunday, and the two did not come to terms on a new deal in time for the deadline.

DirecTV customers in many markets are still able to watch ABC since those affiliates are owned by Sinclair, TEGNA, Scripps or other companies. But several of the largest TV markets—including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston—are out of luck since Disney owns those ABC affiliates.

“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,” Disney and ESPN execs said in a joint statement Sunday. “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.”

In a long press release sent to Front Office Sports, DirecTV said, “Just hours before today’s expiration, Disney demanded that to reach any licensing agreement or to extend access to its programming, DirecTV must agree to waive all claims that Disney’s behavior is anti- competitive. Moreover, any future lawsuits resulting from DirecTV/Disney licensing agreements would be adjudicated in California – and not New York – because – as Disney counsel specifically stated – SDNY Judge Garnett ‘didn’t understand the issues’ when granting a preliminary injunction against Disney’s Venu Sports. Disney’s last-minute demands to foreclose upon any legal accountability for its growing pattern of anti-competitive actions should be troubling to all pro-consumer advocacy groups, regulators, and Department of Justice attorneys alike.”

A quote within the statement from DirecTV Chief Programming Officer Rob Thun is even more severely worded: “The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system. 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.”

The US Open, in a statement, said, “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. We are hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible.”

Much of the enmity at the heart of the dispute between DirecTV and Disney comes from Disney’s participation in Venu, the joint-venture pay TV streaming bundle from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. DirecTV is no fan of Venu; Thun wrote in a recent blog post, “We disagree with Venu’s anti-competitive strategy.” FuboTV won a temporary injunction against Venu last month.