ESPN is amongst quite a few Disney Entertainment channels which have gone darkish on Charter Spectrum cable methods.

The channels went off the air Thursday night time resulting from a carriage dispute between the nation’s second-largest cable TV supplier — which is the key service in New York and Los Angeles, amongst quite a few different markets — and Disney.

ESPN was carrying a school soccer sport between Florida and No. 14 Utah whereas ESPN2 was exhibiting the U.S. Open tennis match, together with the second-round match between top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Lloyd Harris, when the channels went darkish for Charter Spectrum’s 14.7 million subscribers.

There had been additionally school soccer video games on SEC Network, ACC Network and ESPNU.

The transfer angered sports activities followers, and the U.S. Tennis Association wasn’t happy with the timing.

“We’re very disappointed for our fans and viewers around the country that Spectrum and Charter could not resolve their dispute with Disney, resulting in a loss of ESPN coverage of Thursday night’s matches. We’re very hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier mentioned in an announcement.

Both Charter Spectrum and the Walt Disney Co. mentioned in statements that negotiations have been occurring for some time.

Besides all ESPN community channels, ABC-owned stations, Disney-branded channels, Freeform, FX and National Geographic channel have gone darkish on Charter Spectrum.

“Disney Entertainment has successful deals in place with pay TV providers of all types and sizes across the country, and the rates and terms we are seeking in this renewal are driven by the marketplace. We’re committed to reaching a mutually agreed upon resolution with Charter and we urge them to work with us to minimize the disruption to their customers,” Disney Entertainment mentioned in an announcement.

“We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase,” Charter Spectrum mentioned in a observe to prospects. “They additionally need to restrict our means to supply higher buyer selection in programming packages forcing you to take and pay for channels you could not need. The rising value of programming is the one biggest think about increased cable TV costs, and we’re combating exhausting to carry the road on programming charges imposed on us by corporations like Disney.”

ESPN historically has had the very best carriage charges for cable corporations. According to S&P Global, Disney will get a median of $2.20 billion per 12 months from being carried on Charter Spectrum beneath its 2019 carriage deal.

Other cities the place Charter Spectrum is the key cable service embrace Dallas/Fort Worth; Orlando, Florida; Tampa, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; St. Louis; Cleveland; Cincinnati; Milwaukee; and Las Vegas.