Stop me if you’ve heard this exact story over and over again a thousand times. DirecTV customers were watching a variety of Disney-owned channels yesterday when they suddenly went dark. Rather than actual programming, viewers instead got a message saying the contract to carry the channels had expired and asking for patience while the matter was sorted out. Those watching the US Open were literally cut off mid-point, and not surprisingly, many took their anger to social media.
Numerous customers posted threats, fired off creative insults or even made promises to cancel DirecTV, while others imposed deadlines that if the problem wasn’t fixed by the end of the weekend or God forbid, by the start of NFL season in the coming days, there would be hell to pay. Others just angrily posted pictures of the blacked out graphic or even videos of the moment the screen went dark. Watch this one below from someone who was tuned in to the US Open…
WTF Directv and ESPN. pic.twitter.com/4RSyAn429LSeptember 1, 2024
Both Disney and DirecTV are, of course, pointing fingers at the other and blaming them for the outage. Disney dropped a statement and even posted it on its own socials that accused DirecTV of choosing to “deny millions of subscribers” access to Disney content despite the fact that they’re offering “flexibility and terms” that have been extended to other distributors. DirecTV, likewise, fired back with its own perspective, claiming Disney is “refusing any accountability” and is trying to “maximize profits” at the expense of consumers.
Given we’re not at the negotiating table, we don’t know the ins and outs of what’s being offered and who is truly trying to operate in good faith and who is not. Disney claims it’s offering essentially the same packages other distributors have accepted. That’s probably true, but DirecTV claims it’s trying to change the landscape of cable by offering slimmer packages with less total channels, which Disney isn’t accommodating at fair prices.
I’m sure there is plenty of truth on both sides of the aisle here, but let me tell you what’s also true: cable television, one of the most successful and profitable models in the history of entertainment, has been systematically run into the ground by both cable companies and cable networks who have cost themselves billions of dollars long-term by trying to maximize short-term profits. The approval rating of cable is now among the worst of any industry in the entire world, and customers continue to flee to streaming.
And rightfully so. If you would have told me ten years ago that I wouldn’t have cable, I would have assumed I was dead. 1. I love television. 2. I hate change. 3. I’m brand loyal to an almost stupid degree. 4. I literally write about television for a living. I planned on paying for cable the rest of my life, but after a decade of jacking up prices without delivering more content I asked for, periodic blackouts as part of carriage disputes, constant threats of losing channels and all-around terrible customer service, I finally bailed and got YouTube TV.
Some day, the cable companies and TV networks are going to say they lost because they couldn’t possibly beat the streaming services. They’ll say everyone wanted to switch and there was nothing they could do. Let the record show that’s nonsense. The cable companies and the TV networks lost because they both constantly asked for more money at the expense of consumers. The conglomerates that own numerous TV networks demanded cable companies carry their additional channels if they wanted the ones people cared about at a reasonable rate. The cable companies then passed on those fees to consumers and took bigger cuts for themselves. And the cycle repeated over and over and over again.
History would say DirecTV and Disney will work this issue out within the next few weeks, possibly even before the NFL season starts. I’m sure both sides will give a little bit. They’ll pat themselves on the back and act like they’re heroes, but in actuality, they’re both at fault. They’ve both been complicit in this race to the bottom, along with the other TV networks and cable companies, and pretty soon, there won’t be any traditional cable customers to left fight over.
