Solve the problem with ESPN & ABC!

@Ebrewer3906 @nashman320 I just walked the entire 11 pages of this thread and the only DTV employee posts I saw were 2 “official” posts a couple of days ago under the (shared) user ID DIRECTVhelp, which is used by the first level support reps when they post to the forums.  Every other post here is by other customers (or in some cases former customers). ACEs aren’t employees - they’re just users who have been active in the forums for a while and were deemed to have provided enough helpful responses to other users that they were “rewarded” with a badge.  As noted by others, we are generally supporting DTV in this dispute because it’s not our first rodeo - we have seen how these contract renewals (with all carriers - cable, satellite, and live streaming) are manipulated by the content providers (like Disney), know the end result will be our prices going up, and want DTV to negotiate hard so the increase is as small as possible.

However, I will agree that certain of the responders can sometimes have issues with the tone or nature of their responses. Unfortunately, everyone is a free agent here and aren’t always as pleasant or responsive as one could hope - it happens. There’s also the fact that the same complaints have been posted a couple of hundred times in this thread and it gets old, so people who respond to the same things over and over get cranky.  Hopefully this will end soon.  

I understand how corporate greed works, also understanding that it works both ways. Other providers may have the same issues with contracts as DIRECTV, but I honestly have not heard of any being at the rate that DIRECTV does. Regardless of whose fault it might be, the one who has to pay the price (in both dollars and frustration) is the customer. And I'm personally tired of the "frustration" cost, so I'm done with them. Bottom line, I need to find another provider this week who will allow me to watch sports since I'm hosting the next football party at my place this coming weekend.

@bcbsncjlj 

It's truly incredible how much free time you must have. You're correct, I didn't bother reading your disclaimer. I saw the directv contact info, and your constant know it all condescending replies on here and made an assumption. My point still stands, you can be nicer and more empathetic in your replies. We are all humans, most of us who don't spend significant portions of our lives discussing these issues enough to be an "Ace" on a message board like this are pretty upset, emotional, and we want resolution. We also want and deserve to be addressed politely. If you can't respond politely, then please stop responding. You're accomplishing nothing, and this "ace" level status that you seem to have garnered on here, makes it seem like you're an ace at something other than answering questions with a helpful nature. Thanks.

There are many options available. YouTube TV is currently offering a free 21-day trial. That may even get you over the hump of the dispute.

Whatever, have a nice day! Thanks also.

@Ebrewer3906  Acting politely should go both ways. Some of us spend a lot of time on here trying to help people. We don't get paid. But we also don't appreciate being condescended to and treated with disrespect. 

You can get a $20 to $30 credit while they try to hammer out a new deal. 

This question was dismissed without ever being never addressed in the thread that was merged with this one (so I’ll ask it here):

The question is really simple: why did DirectV stream (not satellite) block cox ABC stations during BOTH the Cox dispute AND the a Disney dispute?

I’m looking for DirectVs stance not the station.

Another post posited that DirectV wouldn’t block content if it didn’t have to. Although the products are worth it overall,  I think we’ve seen enough mistakes, haphazard changes, anti consumer practices, etc to not assume they would execute in a way that makes sense.  Chrome casting DVR content has been “coming soon” for about 7 years now even though it worked at one point.  Maybe one of the Cox blackouts was in error?  Maybe DTVS is using it as a negotiation ploy.  Regardless, we shouldn’t be giving DTVS the benefit of the doubt.

Do I expect an answer here?  No.  The question itself shouldn’t be dismissed however.

I was able to get MNF on ESPN+ last night. I've been able to get some modest amounts of content from there as an FYI for anyone who's a subscriber. 

@Ludwick577   

You're not wrong, and my apologies for lumping all posters into the actions of a few. Those who are on here to be helpful, and are doing so in a kind way are greatly appreciated. However, IMHO there are others on here who like to look down their noses at people in their replies. Maybe those folks have no idea how their tone is perceived, I do not know. Regardless, those folks are very much unappreciated by me personally, and their posts can go the way of the dinosaur as far as I am concerned. 

@Lusciouslacey32 

I'd just call in. Maybe you can get a promotional rate.

@ritchieparker It’s a reasonable question, because it doesn’t seem to make much sense. However, it does appear that a contract (unknown if it’s the carriage contract between Disney and DTV or the affiliate contract between Disney and their local affiliates) requires that all of the local affiliates (not just the O&O ones, which you’d expect) block streaming access when Disney has blacked things out during a contract dispute - it’s definitely not just Cox. That same contract provision apparently doesn’t apply to satellite - there, only O&O are blocked.  We don’t know why or any details - unfortunately, no one from DTV will ever provide that info, but it’s clearly coming from the Disney side.   Your earlier Cox blackout would have been due to a (unrelated) contract dispute between DTV and Cox. 

It seems that there are more “take it to actual blackout” disputes these days than there used to be. My theory is that all the linear carriers (cable, satellite, and live streaming) are losing lots of customers. (Live streaming was initially growing by stealing customers from cable and satellite, but I believe they are now losing too.)  Since the content providers (networks) get carriage fees based on the number of customers on a carrier, their revenue was going down because fewer customers, even with the more modest fee increases that they used to ask for. So now the per customer fee increases they are demanding are going way up to compensate, which (when passed through to us) drives even more customers away, making a vicious circle that I think will ultimately kill some of the carriers (especially the ones - like DTV - that aren’t also ISPs). 

But no one (on either side) will publicly provide any business details, so all this is just my guesses.

@mrtx 

The carriage agreement between Disney and DirecTV came up. Since negotiations are ongoing and passed the deadline, Disney pulled their channels (as is their right). DirecTV cannot force them to do otherwise.

How do you figure that means DirecTV can't be trusted?

@Ebrewer3906 

Most posters are customers like yourself. That includes ACEs. Only moderators/forum help team are actually representing DirecTV. Even those with the "employee" tag are posting on their personal time, so likely to have more internal knowledge and limits to what they can say but have a bit more freedom since not on the clock.

Yes practically all (ACEs) have been through this rodeo before, and many with different companies. It is never an enjoyable situation when it comes up. From experience it will be resolved eventually and then moves on to whoever's next to fight with Disney.

Some may have more free time as don't have to work full time. Myself, I hop in between tasks, hobbies, etc. as it does not take me a very long time to type out a response if I'm inclined to do so.

I respect others being frustrated. That does not mean I must sugar coat my responses with additional empathetic comments. When it comes to something that is actually important to one's livelihood, family, or health (loss of home, relative passing away or going to the ICU, etc.) then I respond accordingly, but I do not put the temporary loss of a few TV channels in the same vein. So I tend to be blunt as I find practical information more useful then trying to coddle others.

And yes I call out people who make outlandish claims. Such as those who want a flat half off their bill, or 25% off every week (so getting the week for free), when it is only a few channels and at the time even only a few days. Or those that accuse of having their contract broken when no TV provider can guarantee specific channels and have a clause to that effect.

The options are to wait it out, redeem the courtesy credit as they have advertised, or even use another service temporarily (especially if there is a free trial) just to get through these negotiations. And though this is between DirecTV and Disney, neither truly for the viewer, but if Disney gets their higher rate then DirecTV has to up services in response to cover it. So regardless of in their best interest, DirecTV winning is still in our best interest.