Disney is giving a helping hand to some VIP athletes affected by the Charter dispute.
Disney (DIS) -) is in the middle of a holdout with Charter Communications' (CHTR) -) Spectrum due to a contract dispute. Nearly 15 million Spectrum subscribers have been unable to access Disney’s approximately 19 channels — such as ESPN and ESPN2 which are airing the U.S. Open.
Some of the affected viewers just so happen to be the actual tennis players competing in the Grand Slam tournament who are trying to watch their competitors, including World No. 3 men’s player Daniil Medvedev and the highest ranked American women’s player Coco Gauff.
Related: Fight with Charter is 'existential' for Disney, Former NBC exec says
Medvedev even admitted that he resorted to watching “pirated” streams in order to scout his competition from his hotel.
"I don't know if it's legal or illegal, but I have to find a way because I can't watch it on TV," Medvedev admitted. "I have no other choice."
But Disney is now quietly giving some U.S. Open players like Medvedev access to the company’s app that would allow them to directly view the games on ESPN, according to a report by the Financial Times.
More Disney/Charter:
- Disney doubles down on Spectrum dispute with call to sign up for Hulu
- ESPN blacked out for millions on huge sports day due to Disney dispute
- Tennis star says he can't watch his competitors due to Spectrum-Disney dispute
A spokesperson for ESPN told the FT that it even provided access to some media members like tennis legend John McEnroe, who was out of the early portions of the tournament after testing positive for Covid.
Disney and Spectrum’s dispute isn’t rare in the media industry, but this case is heightened given that Disney and ESPN are going through a rocky period.
This is the height of the sports season — college football returned last week, and the NFL starts on Sept. 7. The MLB and WNBA playoffs are also around the corner, while the NBA and NHL seasons loom in October.
Both sides have already expressed that they hope to bridge the gap soon, but ESPN has already begun urging affected subscribers to move to Hulu to catch all the sports action.
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