DirecTV’s contract dispute with Disney hit a new low on Monday night as fans hoping to watch San Francisco 49ers vs New York Jets were met with a stunning message.
The network provider laid the blame solely at Disney’s door with a message that read: ‘Disney wants you to miss out on Monday Night Football on ABC and ESPN while DIRECTV works to reach a new agreement.’
The two sides were in negotiations across the weekend and Monday, according to Front Office Sports, but failed to reach deal in time for the game.
It left fans furious as they were denied a chance to watch Aaron Rodgers’ hugely anticipated return for the Jets on Monday night.
One took to X and said: ‘@DirecTV 27 years. Loyal customer. No #espn. NO Game. NO #ABC for 2 years. No #MNF D O N E. Horrible for the consumer. Greed on both sides.’
DirecTV hit out at Disney as its customers were left unable to watch Jets vs 49ers
The MNF game saw the return of Aaron Rodgers for the New York team in California
Another said: ‘Come on @Disney, @DirecTV, let’s end this dispute so millions of people can watch Monday Night Football.’
DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday night accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith.
Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC-owned stations in nine markets, have been off DirecTV since the evening of Sept. 1.
That meant DirecTV customers were blacked out from viewing most college football games and the final week of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, including the women’s and men’s finals.
DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.
Besides all ESPN network channels and ABC-owned stations, Disney-branded channels Freeform, FX and National Geographic channel are dark.
DirecTV says in its 10-page complaint that Disney is violating the FCC’s good faith mandates by asking it to waive any legal claims on any anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.
