ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels go dark on DirecTV as carriage agreement fails to be reached

On September 2, 2024, on a busy night for American sports events, Disney's entertainment channels and DirecTV failed to reach a new carriage agreement, resulting in ESPN networks, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and Disney channels going dark on DirecTV.

This incident occurred during the US Open and the first full weekend of college football. At 7:20 PM Eastern Time, when ESPN went dark on DirecTV, the fourth round of the US Open was in progress, which was half an hour before the start of the match between American player Frances Tiafoe and Australian player Alexei Popyrin. Tiafoe reached the semifinals of the 2022 US Open, and Popyrin eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday. The United States Tennis Association expressed dissatisfaction, saying that "fans and viewers across the country will not be able to watch the greatest athletes in our sport participate in the 2024 US Open. We hope this dispute can be resolved quickly."

In addition, this incident also occurred 10 minutes before the college football game between No. 13 Louisiana State University and No. 23 University of Southern California in Las Vegas. At the same time, ABC-owned television stations in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno, California, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Raleigh, North Carolina also went dark on DirecTV, which angered some sports fans who expressed their dissatisfaction on social media.

DirecTV said Disney offered to extend the agreement to keep the channels on air, but on the condition that DirecTV must waive all future legal claims that its actions are anti-competitive. DirecTV's chief content officer Rob Thun said in a statement that Disney refuses to take responsibility and wants to pursue maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers. Meanwhile, Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro issued a joint statement urging DirecTV to finalize the agreement and said they will not sign an agreement that undervalues the value of television channels and program portfolios.

According to the Leichtman Research Group, DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers and is the third-largest pay-TV provider in the United States. This blackout incident not only affected the viewing experience of audiences but also triggered disputes between the two sides over agreements and rights. The subsequent development is closely watched.