College football fans rage as ESPN channels go dark just minutes before USC-LSU kick-off due to failed DirecTV deal

SPORTS fans have been raging after ESPN and DirecTV failed to reach a new distribution deal, leaving the network’s channel shut off for millions of viewers across the country.

Disney-owned networks went dark before the kickoff of a blockbuster college football game between the University of Southern California and Louisiana State University.

Getty

Getty

The USC – LSU game began at 9:30 pm ET at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday evening.

But more than 11 million US satellite subscribers lost access to ESPN – and other Disney-owned networks – just minutes earlier because of the failed negotiations.

College football fans slammed the two media giants after the outage occured.

“Man, these TV wars are getting out of hand,” one posted on X.

“Timing is a negotiation tactic for sure!” another added.

“Class acts – both of them. Not. Shame on @espn @Disney and @DIRECTV,” a third said.

Disney pulled their channels from DirecTV’s lineup just as the 2024 US Open was about to enter the second week of the tournament and with the NFL season about to kick off on Thursday.

ESPN holds exclusive broadcast rights to the US Open in the US as well as to Monday Night Football.

Both Disney and DirecTV responded to the negotiation fiasco with strongly-worded statements.

“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 executives said .

“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.”

DirectTV chief content officer Rob Thun accused Disney of “chasing maximum” profits at the expense of its customers.

College football's 2024 shake-up

Oklahoma and Texas switching from the Big 12 to the SEC is one of the biggest changes to college football in recent times.

And that has set off a chain reaction which has left the Pac-12 conference decimated.

The Pac-12 has lost 10 of its 12 members and is down to just Oregon State and Washington State.

Four of those teams are headed for the Big 12 – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.

Another four are going to the Big 10 – Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

And the other two teams, California and Stanford, will join the ACC conference.

No teams have left the SEC, Big Ten or ACC.

“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” Thun 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.”

In his statement, Thun claimed that Disney demanded that to reach a new agreement, DirecTV had to agree to “waive all claims that Disney’s behavior is anti-competitive.”

“Disney’s only magic is forcing prices to go up while simultaneously making its content disappear,” Thun continued.

The outage came just a year after Disney channels went dark on Charter Spectrum in a similar dispute.