Blacked-out DirecTV users: Make other plans to watch 49ers, presidential debate in Sacramento
Some DirecTV users in the Sacramento region might not have access to some key programming, including the 49ers’ season opener on “Monday Night Football” against the New York Jets, weekend college football or Tuesday’s upcoming presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
That’s because Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, and DirecTV are in a contract standstill after their previous carriage deal expired Sept. 1. This has led to Disney’s properties being pulled from the prominent TV provider.
The impasse means DirecTV subscribers won’t have access to Disney’s catalog of not only ABC and ESPN’s package of stations, but also the Disney Channel, FX and National Geographic until the two sides come to a new agreement.
The two sides had reportedly been in negotiations at DirecTV’s El Segundo headquarters — when the issue will be resolved remains unclear.
However, some DirecTV users in the Sacramento area will still have access to programming on KXTV, Sacramento’s local ABC affiliate. ABC10 will broadcast Monday’s 49ers’ game and Tuesday’s presidential debate, regardless of whether a new deal is reached.
According to an industry source familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly, ABC10’s programming will be available on DirecTV’s satellite service because of the agreement in place with the station’s owner, Tegna.
However, that deal does not include DirecTV Stream, the company’s internet TV service, where ABC10 has been blacked out since Sunday. That’s because ABC10 opted into Disney’s agreement with its affiliate channels that covers the streaming service, but remains separate from Tegna’s contract with DirecTV’s satellite package, the source said.
Disney’s channels on Hulu + Live TV, which it owns, and other providers such as YouTubeTV, SlingTV, FuboTV and traditional cable providers remain unaffected and intact. Over-the-air signals of ABC10 are also not affected. But DirecTV satellite users in the San Francisco, New York and Fresno markets, for example, where Disney owns their network stations, will not be able to watch the 49ers and Jets.
Affiliates not owned by Disney, including ABC10 locally, will still carry ABC’s national content via satellite.
Blacked out? Get credit
Roughly 11 million DirecTV subscribers lost Disney channels on Sunday, including ABC’s broadcast of a marquee college football game between USC and Louisiana State and ESPN’s coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Soon after the blackout, DirecTV immediately released a statement accusing Disney of “again taking an anti-consumer approach, demanding that customers from DirecTV and other TV distributors be forced to pay for channels they don’t watch, and demanding DirecTV customers pay for access to Disney-owned streaming services they either aren’t interested in or may already possess.”
DirecTV has offered its customers $20 credits in light of losing Disney’s channels.
Disney on Wednesday issued a statement: “DirecTV continues to misrepresent the facts around our ongoing negotiations. Our priority is to reach a marketplace deal that serves the needs of DirecTV and their customers while also recognizing the value of our top-quality content and the significant investment required to create and acquire it. We believe there is a path to a fair and flexible agreement that strikes this critical balance and works for all sides, especially the consumer.”
The dispute between the two companies comes a year after Disney and cable provider Spectrum also had a standoff over how much the companies would pay for carrying the signals over cable. Spectrum customers went 12 days without Disney’s channels before they were restored Sept. 11, just before the first “Monday Night Football” game, between the Jets and the Buffalo Bills.
Football fans with DirecTV in Sacramento may be feeling déjà vu. Last year, Channel 40 was blacked out for a month for DirecTV users because of a contract dispute with Nexstar, the station’s owner. The season opener on Fox between the 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers was blacked out.
This story was originally published September 5, 2024 at 11:00 AM.
