Disney blocks ESPN, ABC, and other channels for millions of DirecTV subscribers
Disney-owned channels including ABC and ESPN were pulled from DirecTV’s lineup on Sunday after talks to reach a new distribution deal between the companies collapsed. The blackout started midway through ESPN’s broadcast of the US Open tennis tournament, and just ahead of the NFL season opener this coming weekend.
DirecTV and Disney are both blaming each other for causing the blackout. The only thing for certain is that DirecTV’s roughly 11 million subscribers are the ones suffering.
DirecTV says it’s being prevented from offering more flexible packages that can more closely cater to consumer interest, and that Disney is “herding consumers away” from network TV by shifting content to Disney-owned streaming services like Hulu and Disney...