DirecTV viewers without Disney and ESPN may not regain access anytime soon

On the evening of Sunday, September 1, DirecTV subscribers suddenly found themselves without Disney programming — including ESPN, ABC, Hulu, Disney Plus, Freeform, and FX. Without these Disney channels, DirecTV viewers lost access to the US Open tennis tournament and college football games.

The contract dispute between Disney and DirecTV is reminiscent of a similar Spectrum TV outage last year for ESPN, ABC and affiliated channels. While last year’s dispute was mostly about licensing costs, this year’s disagreement could run a little deeper.

In a conference call with investors Tuesday, DirecTV CFO Ray Carpenter said, “This is not a normal dispute. This is not one where people are haggling over percentage points of rates,” Reuters reports. And on social media site X (formerly Twitter), DirecTV’s official account warned subscribers that “change is not the answer.”

There’s no indication when or if the Disney-DirecTV contract dispute will be resolved. Until then, DirecTV is offering subscribers affected by Disney’s outage a settlement credit. Read on to learn how to apply for that settlement credit and everything you need to know about the Disney-DirecTV contract dispute.

Which viewers will be affected by the Disney channel outage on DirecTV?

In its statement Sunday, DirecTV said that “millions of DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-verse customers” have lost access to Disney programming channels. That programming includes Disney Plus, ESPN, ABC, Hulu, Freeform and FX. DirecTV had 11.3 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Statista.

DirecTV subscribers with local ABC affiliate stations that are not owned by Disney will continue to receive their local ABC channels via satellite service, but the ABC channel will not be available for streaming.

When will Disney channels return to DirectTV?

This year, the Disney-DirecTV conflict brought a bit of football season déjà vu. Last year, on Aug. 31, Spectrum TV viewers suddenly lost access to Disney programming due to another licensing dispute.

Disney and Spectrum eventually resolved their differences, but it took until September 11th. Because the licensing agreement dispute is separate, there’s no word yet on whether DirecTV viewers will be able to watch ESPN again by the time the 49ers host the Jets in the Monday Night Football opener on September 9th.

How else can DirecTV subscribers now watch ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels?

Now that Disney channels have disappeared from DirecTV, subscribers could turn to other streaming services to replace those shows. Both of CNET’s top-rated streaming services — YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV — offer all of the major Disney channels that have been removed from DirectTV, including ABC, ESPN, Disney Plus, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic.

The basic YouTube TV subscription costs $73 per month and comes with a 21-day trial period.just in case you expected Disney and DirecTV to resolve their differences in the next few weeks. Hulu Plus Live TV Monthly Cost Is $77 and offers a three-day trial period.

Fubo’s basic plan includes all the major Disney channels, like ESPN, FX, and ABC. It costs $80 per month, although there is a seven-day free trial and the first month is currently only $50Similarly, SlingTV provides most of the Disney channels through its basic Sling Orange package, which costs $15 for the first month and $40 per month for each additional monthIf you want to receive your local ABC station, you will need to either add Sling Blue or extend your TV coverage with an over-the-air antenna.

As mentioned above, if your local ABC station is not owned by Disney, you will still receive the local channel via satellite, but not via streaming through the DirecTV app.

How can DirecTV subscribers get a refund for lost access to Disney programming?

If you’re a DirecTV subscriber affected by the loss of Disney channel programming, you may be eligible for a credit from the satellite TV company. On its help page for missing TV channels, DirecTV states that the credit is “a small way to acknowledge the disruption and compensate for the temporary inconvenience while we work to restore the channels to your lineup.”

To see if you qualify for a DirecTV credit, visit the company’s TV Promise page, select your TV service from the drop-down menu, enter your ZIP code, and click Search to see. If the page says you qualify for credit, visit Browse Account Loans on the TV Promise website to select the appropriate button and claim compensation.

CNET’s independent research confirms Reddit’s reporting that the bill credit is $20 and must be applied to your next DirecTV bill.