Disney, DirecTV reach agreement to bring back ESPN, ABC and other networks as college and professional football seasons intensify

Disney and DirecTV announced Saturday that they had reached an agreement to restore their “entire portfolio of networks,” including ESPN and ABC, to the satellite provider after a two-week blackout.

The “tentative agreement” was reached just as the college and professional football seasons begin.

“Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DIRECTV and Disney are giving customers the ability to customize their video experience with more flexible options,” the companies said in a joint statement.

“Disney and DIRECTV have a long history of connecting customers with the best entertainment, and this agreement strengthens that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney content and the evolving preferences of DIRECTV customers.”

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The companies thanked “all affected viewers for their patience,” adding that “the entire Disney network portfolio” would be restored “in time for college football and the Emmy Awards this weekend.”

The college football season began in late August, and among other things, DirecTV customers were unable to watch last Tuesday’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, which was hosted by ABC, nor the U.S. Open in tennis, or the NFL’s “Monday Night Football.”

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DirecTV’s 11 million subscribers have been without access to Disney-owned channels since Sept. 1, when license renewal talks collapsed.

The satellite provider’s customers can now choose more genre-specific packages, such as sports or family programming, to better compete with streaming offerings. Customers can also add Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, Disney’s streaming services, to the packages.

DirecTV Chief Marketing Officer Vince Torres revealed Thursday that the two-week power outage resulted in a loss of customers.

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Last year, Disney and cable provider Spectrum TV had a similar dispute in which ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel and other networks were restored, but Spectrum customers lost others, such as Freeform, FXX and FXM. Spectrum now offers ESPN+ and Disney+ for free with some packages.

Reuters contributed to this report.