Cooper describes dispute as “unacceptable practice” and sends letter to Walt Disney and DirecTV

RALEIGH, NC (WLOS) — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper sent letters to the Walt Disney Company and DirecTV on September 6, urging both companies to reach an agreement while calling the dispute an “unacceptable practice.”

Current subscribers to DirecTV’s streaming service cannot receive ABC News 13, and several viewers have called the station to complain. Other channels that will be unavailable until a settlement is reached include ESPN, the Disney Channel, FX and other Disney-owned channels. Those channels were shut down on Sept. 1 after DirecTV’s five-year contract with Disney expired.

Cooper stressed in the letter that an agreement must be reached so that North Carolinians can watch their favorite Atlantic Coastal Conference games since football season has just begun. He said it is not fair that North Carolinians pay full price for streaming services and do not get all the channels they pay for.

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Below is Cooper’s full letter to both companies:

I am writing on behalf of many North Carolinians who are frustrated and angry at being unable to watch their favorite sports teams and athletes over Labor Day weekend due to the ongoing dispute between DirecTV and Disney. Not only are the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN 2, ACC Network, SEC Network, and more) down, but other popular channels are as well.

A disturbing pattern has emerged in recent years of media companies making little progress in these contract negotiations until their customers feel the real burden. This means that your customers are left in the lurch at the start of popular sporting events, particularly college football season. This is an unacceptable practice and I urge you to resolve this dispute quickly.

At a time when the costs of daily living are forcing many families to make difficult budgetary decisions, many North Carolinians are choosing to spend their hard-earned money with your companies. Right now, you’re not delivering on your promises.

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Your customers want you to settle this dispute immediately. As an avid sports fan myself, I can only attest to this.

North Carolinians are sports enthusiasts, and it’s frustrating when the rug is pulled out from under them – especially when most people weren’t expecting it. Disney’s programming was pulled Sunday night just before the start of the nationally televised college football game between LSU and the University of Southern California. It was a great game, but many of your customers in North Carolina weren’t able to see it. The U.S. Open tennis and many other events were also blacked out.

I urge you to work around the clock to resolve this dispute as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Roy Cooper