DirecTV customers lose Disney and ESPN amid carriage dispute

A carriage dispute between Disney and ESPN and DirecTV has caused the channel to go dark for thousands of customers just ahead of the LSU vs. USC game on Sunday night.

ESPN released a statement on the carriage dispute on Sunday evening.

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“DirecTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we head into the final week of the US Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season,” the statement read.

“While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.

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“We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”

The news comes on the heels of an awesome opening weekend for ABC and ESPN.

ABC averages 7.6 million viewers

While DirecTV is in a carriage dispute with Disney and ESPN, ABC just posted a phenomenal opening weekend in terms of viewership.

ESPN reported that the three games the network broadcast on ABC averaged 7.6 million viewers, the second-most ever for an opening week.

It was led by primetime game between Notre Dame and Texas A&M that kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET. That game saw an average of 8.2 million people tune in and peaked at 9.3 million viewers. That made it the most-watched Saturday night game of the past two years and it was also the most-streamed regular season college football game ever.

Georgia and Clemson got the day started on ABC with the noon ET game. Although the Bulldogs ended up blowing out the Tigers by a score of 34-3, it didn’t stop the matchup from averaging 7.9 million viewers to finish just behind Notre Dame-Texas A&M for the most-watched game of the day.

A rivalry game between Miami and Florida followed the Georgia-Clemson matchup in the afternoon slot. That was a rout in favor of the Hurricanes, which won 41-17 as the Gators allowed the most points ever in a home opener.

That saw an average of 6.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched late afternoon game since 2017. It also set the stage for the night game to come in and continue to deliver big numbers.

On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this report.