ESPN, Disney, ABC stations and streaming services including Hulu went dark for millions of DirecTV customers on Sunday, with the networks pulled by network parent Walt Disney Co. over a contract dispute.
The services were pulled on a busy night for sports events, with the new college football season kicking off its first full weekend and ESPN airing the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Fourth-round matches were underway at the U.S. Open when ESPN’s broadcast went off the air on DirecTV at 7:20 p.m. Eastern Time, angering many viewers who vented their displeasure on social media.
The blackout also happened 10 minutes before the start of the football game between No. 13 Louisiana State University and No. 23 University of Southern California.
DirecTV, a provider of satellite TV, internet and streaming services, has 11.3 million customers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.
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