Some college football and tennis fans were in for a rude awakening Sunday night.
And NFL fans could be next.
ABC and ESPN suddenly went dark on DirecTV just as a hyped-up college football game started and during the US Open Sunday night.
The Walt Disney Company and ESPN released a statement after college football fans couldn't see the LSU vs USC "Vegas Kickoff Classic."
"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 Disney and ESPN officials said in a statement.
"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," they added. "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."
On the other side, DIRECTV News posted, "Just hours before Disney pulled its programming from millions of DIRECTV customers, they demanded that to reach any licensing agreement or extend access to its programming, DIRECTV must agree to waive all claims that Disney's behavior is anti-competitive."
The NFL comes to ESPN/ABC on Sept. 9.
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