US Open coverage blacked out from nearly 15 million fans in ESPN dispute

The US Open has experienced broadcast blackouts after several Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, went dark on Thursday. A dispute between ESPN and cable company Spectrum caused the issue.

The blackout affected ESPN’s coverage of the US Open during the second-round matchup of No. 1 ranked Carlos Alcaraz and unseeded South African Lloyd Harris. It also affected a college football game between the University of Florida and the University of Utah, the No. 14 ranked team in the country.

Spectrum provided a statement on the television where the broadcast was supposed to appear on the screen. They then uploaded the message on their website to provide context to millions of sports fans tuned into the events.

“The Walt Disney Company has removed their programming from Spectrum, which creates hardship for our customers. We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase,” conveyed the platform on their website.

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“They also want to limit our ability to provide greater customer choice in programming packages, forcing you to take and pay for channels you may not want. Spectrum is on your side and fighting to keep costs down while protecting and maximizing customer choice.”

“The rising cost of programming is the single most significant factor in higher cable TV prices, and we are fighting hard to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney. We apologize for the inconvenience. We understand how important it is to be able to access your programming content and have solutions for you.”

The US Open released a statement through USTA spokesperson Chris Widmaier, who expressed disappointment with the blackout. He said, “We’re very disappointed for our fans and viewers around the country that Spectrum and Charter could not resolve their dispute with Disney, resulting in a loss of ESPN coverage of Thursday night’s matches.

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“We are very hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible.” Spectrum implored subscribers of their service to send e-mails to ESPN’s executives.

Upon clicking the “send e-mail” button, a pre-written message and subject line is automatically generated, reading the following:

“Tell Disney to restore your channels. We’ll send this message on your behalf to Disney with a subject line that reads ‘Restore my channels.'” The message states,” I am writing you to express my frustration and disappointment with your decision to pull your programming from my Spectrum channel lineup. Please restore my programming while you negotiate a fair deal.”

Spectrum, which Charter Communications Inc. owns, is the second-largest cable provider in America, with a value of $53.47 billion. They fall only behind Comcast, which generates $158.8 billion in revenue and has over 17.4 million subscribers.

Charter CEO Chris Winfrey spoke with investors on a call, describing the blackout as an irregular carriage dispute. He called the current pay-TV model system broken, revealing that within the last five years, 25 million companies have parted way with cable TV.

Disney CEO Bob Iger stressed the importance of cable TV, saying the company was willing to sell a state in the network as they progressed towards focusing on the live elements within the ESPN app, providing a direct experience for consumers.

All five ESPN channels will be impacted during the ongoing dispute. Several Disney-owned channels were also affected, including National Geographic, FX, and ABC on Demand programming.

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