Solve the problem with ESPN & ABC!

"Gee, you mean there is no contractual wording on a guarantee of channels."

Show me a provider that guarantees channels.

I dare you.

No service provider can guarantee specific channels. It's too easy for network owners to simply yank their channels whenever a contract renewal comes due. Witness Disney and ABC. 

@adfunnelincoming 

The ACEs are just regular customers like you are.

It's the truth...very few DirecTV employees read these posts. Employees of DirecTV have signatures below their messages when they post and generally post on their own time "off the clock" and don't get paid to do so.

This thread was merged from several others. I highly doubt 17k people are looking at it at any given time.

I'm not sure we need teenybopper "influencers" around here.

After about a one hour conversation with Directv on Tuesday, I was told that since I already have a $20 discount/month and another $30/month discount that I couldn’t get an additional $20 discount for this inconvenience with Disney.  Needless to say I am not happy.  I vowed to go with YouTube TV and the person I was talking with said that YouTube TV would be going into contract negotiations with Disney in December.  This could have been just a ploy to make me stay but if not, be aware YT TV subscribers, you may not be able to watch the college playoffs and bowl games.  There should be some law to prevent his from happening.  What say you lawmakers!

@Didi70 

No channel provider is immune from disputes. Dish Network didn't have HBO/Cinemax for something like two years. It was out of this dispute that HBO Now (pay a la carte) was born. Of course, what was HBO Now is now known as Max.

YouTube TV doesn't have the regional sports channels, although you can add yours a la carte for $20/mo. This is a bit more than what YouTube TV subscribers would pay.

@rjax360  there is NO breach of contract at all. Programming is subject to change at anytime with or without notice, this is in ALL pay TV providers' terms of service 

Seriously there are other streaming services out there, fix this issue. I get there is a contract dispute, but why does this happen every year, it’s infuriating. 

It seems to happen every year because there's lots of companies that own channels. Contracts all end at different times.

Every provider goes through the same negotiations. It's why the channel owners all say they were able to negotiate successfully with other providers. When Disney says this, they fail to mention they were off Charter Spectrum for a few weeks.

@Ebrewer3906 

It seems you are under the mistaken impression that I work for DirecTV. The fact is I do not, so DirecTV's client base is not mine any more than it is yours.

Yes I prefer facts over bad assumptions or false claims people pull out of thin air. I help by providing as accurate information as I can and a realistic perspective. Regarding empathy, it depends what the situation is. You had a family member pass on and are distraught, but of course. You threaten and call for the pitchforks and torches (metaphorically speaking) because a TV channel has been off for a few days, not so much.

Keep in mind that others are frustrated too. Because when these disputes happen, regardless if they are ones I watch or not, it further drives the increasing costs of our bills. And it seems more people would rather bow down before the House of Mouse instead of stepping back and seeing how much of a hand it has in the issue.

@rjax360 

There is no breach of contract. The Terms of Service specifically state that channels may change at any time. No provider can guarantee that Disney, ESPN, or any other channel will always be available as it is impossible. Disney pulled their channels as is their right to do so.

You cancel while you have a service agreement then they collect it. It is what you legitimately owe. Being upset about the situation doesn't change the reality of how it works, as much as you want to "dine and dash" over it.

For reference this has been in the Terms of Service:

(d) Our Programming Changes.
Many factors affect the availability, cost and quality of programming and may influence the decision to raise prices and the amount of any increase. These include, among others, programming and other costs, consumer demand, market and shareholder expectations, and changing business conditions. Accordingly, we reserve the unrestricted right to change, rearrange, add or delete our programming packages, the selections in those packages, our prices, technologies used to deliver the Service, and any other Service we offer, at any time.

@Frasier7 

When it happens it is a different one. It is not the same network owner every year, their agreements end at different times. There are so many different networks that you can have a carriage dispute/negotiation each year, just different companies.

Though I will say in recent years it has become worse with local affiliate owners. And those many can get free with an over-the-air antenna, but too many balk at doing so. Some have even posted they would be ashamed to use such "ancient" or "dinosaur" technology, even though it is still a valid option. This is just an example where the consumer plays a part in enabling networks to take advantage.

@Frasier7  No one “out here” can fix this. Everyone is other customers except for the occasional pop ins from login name DIRECTVhelp, which is an alias for first level support reps (who also can’t do anything about it).  It happens (at least for some content providers) every time their contract expires (usually longer than 1 year, but I don’t know the details) and they want to significantly increase their price (and in this case, add additional conditions) to DTV, and DTV pushes back, because they’d need to jack up the prices they charge us which would cost them subscribers.  The content providers do the same to all carriers as the contracts expire - I assume they intentional stagger when that happens so that subscribers can threaten (as you did) to go to another carrier, which gives the content provider (Disney in this case) that much more leverage. I happen to be on DTV’s side in this one - I don’t care at all about ESPN and not much about any sports, so when they ultimately settle, my cost will go up for content I don’t care about.  Yes, it’s infuriating - take it up with Disney and with the sports leagues (especially the NFL) because they keep increasing what they charge the content providers (like Disney) and that gets passed through. (I personally think the NFL and the other leagues, the owners, and the players make plenty - they don’t need enormous amounts more every year, but that’s just me). 

@Giman43 

AT&T does own 70% of the TV services, but has spun them back off into their own entity. With doing so they have the new co-owner handling operation. They bit off more than they could chew when they first acquired DirecTV so have backed off almost like a silent partner. What voice they are choosing to exercise in this situation is unknown as those details are behind closed doors.

I would suggest not claiming to speak for "most Americans" on any topic. Too bold a claim that could be perceived that you don't acknowledge someone that you don't see as a "true American". I will leave it at that as anything further pushes into political or other discussion that is not appropriate for the DirecTV forum.

What I will say is it does appear many in our country do appear to want to fund sports overall. That is where I've seen the biggest complaints come from (sports watchers) when it comes to these disputes, be it Disney that owns ESPN or a local channel affiliate owner where local/regional games may play. I will not claim what the exact percentage is or boast that I speak for most, only speaking to what I have seen.

Signed up for YouTube TV for the 3 week trial. Never thought I’d be doing this, but it’s easy and we’re finding the learning curve minimal. Directv better fix this soon. Never thought we’d leave, but doing so now. I’ll add I’m old and hate change. But I hate losing ABC and ESPN more….