[Music] millions of satellite subscribers were left without coverage access of one of tennis biggest Global events as Disney's ESPN and ABC programming was pulled over the weekend from Direct TV amid an ongoing contract dispute between the entities Disney programming on ESPN and ABC went dark Sunday night interrup coverage of the US Open tennis tournament and the evenings kickoff of college football coverage including a game between the University of Southern California Trojans and Louisiana State University Tigers representative for Direct TV Tales Entertainment Weekly in total roughly 11 million subscribers were left without access to Disney's programming for the New York Times which further indicated that with the US open's programming slot reportedly blacked out from many customers during the evening event the Us open's official channels released a statement addressing the dispute on Sunday calling it disappointing that fans and viewers around the country will not have the opportunity to watch the greatest athletes in our sport take part in the 2024 US Open due to an unresolved negotiation between Direct TV and Disney resulting in a loss of access to ESPN we are hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible the contract dispute with the Distributors centered around a belief that the deal did not reflect the the value of Disney's content according to a joint statement obtained Monday by ew Direct TV 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 while we're open to offering Direct TV 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 said Disney entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden and Alan Bergman as well as ESPN chairman Jimmy Peto in the statement we invest significantly to deliver the number one brands in entertainment news and sports because that's what our viewers expect and deserve we urge Direct TV to do what's in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming Direct TV Chief content officer Rob Thun responded in a statement also obtained by ew suggesting that the higher costs aren't just justifiable as Disney continues to shift programming to its Disney plus platform Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions they want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price Thun said that he continued consumer frustration is at an all-time high as Disney shifts its best producers most Innovative shows top teams conferences and entire leagues to their direct to consumer services while making customers pay more than once for the same programming on multiple Disney platforms Disney's only magic is forcing prices to go up while simultaneously making its content disappear Direct TV additionally published internal numbers that the company said supported its stance on Disney's costs with its report finding that less than 40% of Direct TV customer watch Disney Sports content for at least 3 hours on average per month and that only 10% of Direct TV customers watch a combined 3 hours or more on average per month of kids and family programming for a post on the Walt Disney Company website Disney has proposed a variety of flexible options during negotiations that have taken place across the last several weeks and the studio cited approximately 90% of Direct TV households that reportedly watched linear company programming in 2023 as recent years have shown the one constant in the entertainment world is change as television and the broader media ecosystem continue to evolve Disney is the clear industry leader in storytelling and in establishing flexible distribution models that meet the evolving preferences and needs of consumers concluded the post according to sources familiar with Disney's positioning during the negotiations the new rates the company proposed are in line with other industry standards Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives from for Disney ABC ESPN and Direct TV for more information