ESPN went off the air on DirecTV during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and college football weekend for the second year in a row due to a carriage dispute between Disney and the carrier. The move angered sports fans, and the U.S. Tennis Association expressed disappointment over fans missing out on watching the U.S. Open. This happened before the match between Frances Tiafoe and Alexei Popyrin and the college football game between LSU and USC. Last year, a similar situation occurred between Disney and Spectrum, which was resolved shortly before the first Monday night NFL game. DirecTV accused Disney of refusing accountability and prioritizing profits over consumer satisfaction. Disney urged DirecTV to finalize a deal, stating they would not undervalue their programming. Networks and distributors are at odds over content, with distributors wanting an a la carte model. DirecTV criticized Disney for shifting premium content to direct-to-consumer platforms. In addition to ESPN and ABC stations, other Disney channels such as Freeform, FX, and National Geographic also went dark on DirecTV.
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