YouTube TV sales rocket for NFL season as DirecTV ban ESPN and ABC ahead of week 1 and fans boycott streaming service

NFL fans are jumping ship from DirecTV as it continues to squabble with ESPN ahead of the season.

DirecTV has blacked out ESPN and ABC on millions of TVs ahead of the NFL season’s kickoff on Thursday, but fans aren’t letting that stop them from watching football.

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As the sports network and TV provider are at a standstill, fans are left without NFL and college football coverage.

However, plenty of other TV providers are continuing to air ESPN and ABC, leaving fans with a simple option to get their football.

YouTube TV is reaping the rewards of this streaming squabble, as many fans are canceling their DirecTV plans in favor of YouTube TV ahead of the NFL season.

YouTube’s live TV service is a sponsor of the NFL, and fans are starting to make the switch before Monday Night Football.

“It’s a great day to be YouTube TV,” one fan said.

“Hey @DIRECTV we pay you well north of $200 a month and you cut out the US Open and Phillies on ESPN. Well guess what. We just started our free trial to YouTube TV and am cancelling you on Tuesday,” another fan said.

“Hey @DIRECTV if I wake up tomorrow without ESPN…I’m gone. It’s just that simple,” a third fan said.

“People complaining about directv not showing the usc lsu game, meanwhile I’ve been watching sports on YouTube tv for the past few years,” a fourth fan said.

“Hey @directv you just lost a customer. Thanks for giving no warning that ABC/ESPN was pulling their programming. Back to YouTube TV for me,” a fifth fan said.

ESPN and DirecTV have been pointing fingers at each other throughout the negotiation process, with little progress being made.

“We don’t have a deal,” Justin Connolly, Disney president of platform distribution, told Front Office Sports .

“There are still fairly large gaps in the perspectives we’re each bringing to the table.

“DirecTV needs to roll up their sleeves and engage on things that we can execute together.”

DirecTV chief content officer Rob Thun has contrarily placed the blame on Disney and ESPN in a recent blog post.

NFL important dates

August 1 - Hall of Fame Game - Houston Texans vs Chicago Bears

August 8 – Pre-season begins

August 27 – Deadline for 53-man rosters

September 1 – Final day of pre-season

September 5 – Season opener – Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs

November 5 – Trade deadline

January 5 – Week 18 of regular-season

January 11 – Playoffs begin

February 9 – Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana

“While [direct-to-consumer] offerings have evolved, pay-TV packages have remained largely unchanged,” he wrote .

“Instead of allowing distributors like DirecTV to also develop smaller, more tailored packages at prices that reflect the value they get from the content, programmers have continued to impose and enforce strict bundling requirements through exorbitant minimum penetration rates.”

DirecTV could also be upset with Disney’s recent plans to create a joint venture with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The new sports platform, Venu Sports, has already seen legal action from FuboTV over anticompetitive concerns.

“We disagree with Venu’s anti-competitive strategy and believe that distributors should have the same flexibility to thrive along DTC services by offering genre-based packages that extend beyond sports to include locals, entertainment, news, family, movies, and others,” Thun wrote.

There is still a week until Monday Night Football kicks off, but if DirecTV and ESPN don’t have a deal before then, millions of customers will be without the NFL.

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