ESPN’s ongoing dispute with Charter Communications (which operates the Spectrum cable TV brand in markets across America) has finally hit the wall, and on Thursday with the first college football games of Week 1 of the season taking place, the Disney-owned ESPN pulled the plug and blacked out all networks from the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
All ESPN networks just went black on Spectrum. Guess a bluff was called.
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 1, 2023
Ok, I’m hearing from friends and relatives with Spectrum in the NYC and tristate area as their cable provider that they can’t see ESPN or any other Disney cable channels and O&O stations. Here is what is on ESPN: pic.twitter.com/ue6chr9H2U
— Tennis Panorama News (@TennisNewsTPN) September 1, 2023
If you’re a college football fan, where the cost of admission to see all the games during those 14 magical fall weekends can now be as much as $500 per season, this is a big blow as the season gets started. ESPN has contracts with every Power Five league, and brings plenty of coverage of the rest of FBS as well.
While ESPN+ and other streaming platforms are out there, they often don’t have the biggest games when they appear on ESPN or ESPN2 directly. There’s also the SEC Network, ACC Network, and other platforms where plenty of games will reside.
If you’re a college football fan, signing up for some free trials of other cord-cutting streaming services might be the way to go here in the interim.