ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit criticized DirectTV for the standoff between the satellite provider and the cable network’s parent company, Walt Disney Co.
“Knew @YouTubeTV would pay off,” the soccer analyst wrote on X, indicating he won’t miss any action on ESPN or ABC due to the ongoing outages. “Good call by my 4 boys.”
Walt Disney Co. networks, including ESPN and ABC stations, were removed from DirectTV after negotiations between the satellite company and the media giant collapsed on Sunday. The outages affected about 11 million customer households.
Making matters worse for DirectTV subscribers, the blackout began just before USC’s highly anticipated win over LSU on Sunday night. On top of that, the NFL season starts this week and ESPN is also broadcasting the ongoing US Open from Queens, New York.
After the outage, DirectTV and ESPN blamed each other for the fiasco.
Kirk Herbstreit slammed DirectTV over satellite provider’s standoff with ESPN
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, along with Disney executives Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, issued a joint statement saying, “DirecTV has chosen to disconnect millions of subscribers from our content as we enter the final week of the U.S. Open and prepare for college football and the opening of the NFL season.”
Rob Thun, Chief Content Officer of DirectTV, responded in a statement, saying, “Walt Disney Co. has once again failed to provide accountability to consumers, distribution partners and now the U.S. judicial system.”
In the press release, DirectTV accused Disney of an “anti-consumer approach” that “forces DirectTV and other TV distributors… to pay for channels they don’t watch.”
Other broadcasts that may be affected include ESPN’s Monday Night Football, which premieres Sept. 9 when the San Francisco 49ers take on the New York Jets.
ABC affiliates that are directly owned by Disney have also been pulled from DirectTV. This could result in viewers missing out on local news, their favorite game shows like “Wheel of Fortune” and talk shows like “Good Morning American” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
From left to right, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit talk about ESPN College Gameday
Disney networks, including ESPN, have been blocked on DirecTV due to the ongoing gridlock
A similar dispute between Disney and Spectrum TV led to a 12-day outage in 2023. That doesn’t tell us how long the DirectTV outage will last, though.
Fans online were divided over who should be blamed.
“@DIRECTV fix this now or you’ll lose a loyal (sic) customer,” wrote one person on X. “Sports is all I watch. I’m missing my Braves game on my long weekend.”
Another added: ‘Yes I’m going to cancel my @DIRECTV ASAP.’
Others blamed Disney.
“This happens all the time with Disney channels,” one critic wrote. “That’s why I’m disappointed every time ESPN gets extra time for the playoffs.”
Pay TV continues to struggle with canceled subscriptions, with the industry losing 2.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024.
Disney is known for charging distributors $10 per subscriber per month for ESPN’s various networks, a revenue the media giant uses to buy media rights to the league.