DirecTV customers miss 'Monday Night Football' NFL game as carriage fight with Disney continues
DirecTV's pay TV customers lost access to Disney's networks, including ESPN, last week.
Millions of DirecTV customers missed the NFL's opening "Monday Night Football" game on ESPN as the company has yet to reach a deal with network parent Disney.
Disney's TV networks went dark on Sept. 1 for DirecTV's customers amid a carriage battle over fees and bundling. Those networks include pay-TV channels ESPN and FX, as well as broadcast network ABC in some markets.
Disney and DirecTV did not reach a deal in time for "Monday Night Football," a 32-19 San Francisco 49ers victory over the New York Jets. However, negotiations are still ongoing and a deal could come as early as this week, people familiar with the matter said.
The satellite and streaming company called Disney anti-consumer as DirecTV is pushing for an option in which it could create genre-specific bundles, such as kids, entertainment and news, which Disney opposes.
As a result of the fight, DirecTV customers were unable to see the U.S. Open and the first full weekend of the college football season.
Live sports continue to attract big audiences and, in turn, high media rights deals, which in turn have created some of the most expensive networks on TV. ESPN is said to reap some of the highest fees paid by pay-TV companies to carry the network and its sister channels, CNBC previously reported.