As holiday arrives, ABC, ESPN off DirecTV over contract dispute

Just in time for Labor Day, DirecTV subscribers have lost ESPN and ABC stations.

The two companies are in a dispute over how much Disney is willing to pay DirecTV over the rights to air its cable stations.

The timing is fraught for football fans. College football is well underway, and the NFL starts in a few days. ESPN is also airing the U.S. Open and some key baseball matchups.

There are about 11 million subscribers impacted nationwide. (DirecTV does not break down its subscribers by metro region.) The first college football game subscribers are missing is a game between the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers. Other networks impacted include FX and National Geographic.

Both sides are blaming the other, which is typical when these disputes happen (and they happen frequently with DirecTV).

“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. “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.”

Disney’s counterpoint statement: “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 urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”

Disney said the rates they’re requesting from DirecTV are in line with those of other providers and DirecTV sought “unreasonable” discounts.

WSB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, went black on DirecTV earlier this year for eight days over a similar dispute.

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