Disney Relents After Players Say They Want Their ESPN

A lot of people complained when Disney cut off its ESPN programming from Charter Spectrum last week during a dispute over fees. But the company was listening when tennis stars such as Coco Gauff and Daniil Medvedev publicly objected to not being able to watch their rivals' matches at the US Open in New York, per the Hollywood Reporter. So the signal was turned back for players and some broadcasters and others covering the tournament in the Queens borough of New York City.

"I guess in a lot of hotels, they have Spectrum, so I cannot watch it on TV anymore," Medvedev said in press conference Monday night. He eventually watched matches on "pirate websites," he said. John McEnroe, an analyst for ESPN, also was shut out by the blackout while dealing with COVID-19. Broadcasts of other sports were affected, of course, including the first weekend of college football. The NFL's first edition of Monday Night Football is next week. In addition to ESPN, ABC and other channels owned by Disney have gone dark on Spectrum. The dispute over fees doesn't seem to be any closer to resolution, per CNBC. Disney blamed Charter on Thursday, and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said "Disney will be who decides" what's next. (More US Open Tennis stories.)