What’s going on with DirecTV and Disney? The dispute, explained

DirecTV customers across the U.S. had a rude awakening Sunday night after The Walt Disney Company cut access to ABC and ESPN among other networks from the cable giants’ lineup.

An estimated 11 million subscribers were left reeling after Disney unceremoniously pulled some of its most popular channels from the DirecTV lineup on Sunday night. At 7:20 p.m. EDT, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open, Disney’s dispute with DirecTV boiled over, prompting the media giant to pull Hulu Live TV, ESPN, National Geographic, FX, Freeform, and ABC-owned stations from around the U.S.

What happened? A timeline

Carriage disputes like the disagreement between Disney and DirecTV are fairly common. DirecTV, the third largest television provider in the US, has long been critical of Disney’s “Anti-consumer” approach. The media conglomerate has been pushing Disney for less cost-intensive alternatives for consumers and has been working towards customer-created bundles that would allow subscribers to only pay for the channels they want.

As Disney moves away from classic television programming to focus on the world of streaming, it claims that cable bundles undervalue its products.  Disney spent nearly 30 billion dollars on programming specifically for streaming and claims that services like DirecTV “undervalue” those services.

DirecTV says that Disney has been uncooperative in reaching an agreement. In a statement explaining the outage, the company wrote that Disney is “demanding DIRECTV customers pay for access to Disney-owned streaming services they either aren’t interested in or may already possess.” Additionally, it claims that “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”

It’s a classic Walt Disney Company move. The money grab comes on the tail of multiple controversial House of Mouse hot takes like claiming Disneyland parkgoers can’t sue for wrongful death if they’ve subscribed to Disney+, or appealing a $36,000 OSHA fine after a worker plunged to his death on the set of Wonder Man.

Its not the first time that Disney has pulled a stunt like this. According to Forbes, Disney pulled programming from Charter last Labor Day. The company claimed that Charter has “devalued its programming,” and Charter said the media impasse was a “sign of worsening conditions for the cable bundle.”

As of 2023, The Walt Disney Company made nearly 89 billion dollars a year, making their “undervalued” complaint feel more than a little moot.

When will DirecTV get ESPN back?

DirectTV is “pursuing every avenue” to get stations back, but in the meantime, customers will have to find another way to root for their favorite teams. DirecTV doesn’t have a timeline on when the dispute will be resolved, but customers are being offered a bill credit until a resolution is met.

These disputes typically don’t last very long. The Charter/Disney dispute lasted 11 days, resolving just before the kickoff of “Monday Night Football,” one of the most viewed programs in the US. A dispute between Verizon and The Weather Channel lasted a whopping 1,567 days, but for the sake football fans, we’ll hope for a speedy resolution.

For it’s part, DirecTV has said that it hopes to resolve the issue before “your favorite team” plays a Monday night game.

Does YouTube TV have ESPN?

For fans who just can’t wait, YouTube TV offers live TV streaming, including ESPN’s expansive offerings. New users can nab a free month of the streaming service. After that, the Base plan combined with the NFL Sunday Ticket will set Football fans back $158.99 per month.