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DirecTV and Disney reach deal to end ESPN, ABC blackout

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DirecTV and Disney reach deal to end ESPN, ABC blackout

After a 13-day blackout, Walt Disney Co. and DirecTV settled their contentious contract dispute early Saturday, restoring ESPN, ABC stations and other Disney-owned channels for more than 10 million DirecTV subscribers.

DirecTV and U-Verse customers have been frustrated by the loss of Disney programming since talks broke down on Sept. 1.

Both companies were motivated to reach a deal before the kickoff of another weekend of ESPN and ABC college football, ABC’s telecast of the 76th Emmy Awards on Sunday and the second week of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” featuring a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. ABC’s new primetime season also begins later this month.

The nearly two-week battle has been costly. Thousands of subscribers canceled their service during the blackout, DirecTV acknowledged earlier this week. The satellite TV giant wanted to stop the bleeding.

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After marathon negotiations, the companies said they reached an “agreement in principle,” which contains hikes in the fees DirecTV pays for Disney programming. Earlier this week, DirecTV alerted subscribers that it planned to raise prices on some bundles next month due to higher programming costs.

DirecTV came away with wins in the new contract, too. It gained the ability to offer Disney channels in genre packages, including sports, general entertainment and a “kids & family” package. DirecTV also can offer Disney’s streaming services, including Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ to customers who subscribe to certain packages as well as on an a la carte basis.

“Through this first-of-its-kind collaboration, DirecTV and Disney are giving customers the ability to tailor their video experience through more
flexible options,” the companies said in a joint statement. “DirecTV and Disney have a long-standing history of connecting consumers to the best entertainment, and this agreement furthers that commitment by recognizing both the tremendous value of Disney’s content and the evolving preferences of DirecTV customers.”

The dispute underscored the strain facing traditional pay-TV distributors amid the shift to streaming.

A shrinking pool of big-bundle subscribers increasingly has been asked to shoulder higher programming expenses.

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The cost of carrying broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and sports networks, including ESPN, has skyrocketed as programmers look to pass on fee increases they’ve agreed to pay sports leagues. ESPN is the most expensive basic cable channel, costing pay-TV distributors nearly $10 a month per subscriber home.

Sports costs became a major rub in the recent dispute. Another sticking point was Disney’s requirement that its channels be available in most of the DirecTV and U-Verse homes.

Disney has long demanded that its channels reach about 90% of DirecTV’s subscriber base. ESPN’s minimum threshold is around 82%.

Pay-TV companies such as DirecTV must pay penalties if they fail to meet that “minimum penetration.”

Heading into negotiations, DirecTV girded for battle with a goal of relaxing those thresholds. DirecTV wanted looser requirements so it could offer its customers smaller, genre-themed bundles at lower prices.

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DirecTV executives argued that it was unsustainable to force customers to buy a “bloated bundle” filled with expensive channels they don’t watch. Most consumers watch fewer than 30 channels, they said.

Disney countered that programming is expensive and that it has been investing heavily in high-quality content.

Neither side was eager to prolong a battle that antagonized customers. Already, more than 4 million U.S. customer homes dropped pay TV in the first six months of the year, according to research firm MoffettNathanson.

Disney and DirecTV still generate billions of dollars in revenue from traditional pay-TV packages and they want to keep the spigot running. Disney receives about $2 billion a year from DirecTV, MoffettNathanson said.

Unlike cable distributors that also offer high-speed internet and phone service, DirecTV is focused solely on selling video channel packages, including U-Verse, since the company’s 2021 spinoff from AT&T. The El Segundo firm, which has lost more than half of its subscribers from a decade ago, could ill afford to chase away more customers and began offering $30 credits to encourage them to stay during the blackout.

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Early on, Disney said it was willing to work with DirecTV to craft genre-themed bundles, such as children’s and family entertainment, local broadcast stations and sports.

“Disney talking openly about smaller bundles is a major inflection point strategically and likely points to where the industry is ultimately headed,” Lightshed Partners media analyst Rich Greenfield wrote in a report.

But the two companies spent days haggling over the penetration rates. Negotiators spent long hours trading proposals since the blackout began, despite trading barbs publicly.

Blackouts have become increasingly common as industry economics erode. Last year, Disney channels went dark for nearly 12 days on Charter Communications’ Spectrum service during a similar tussle over fees and flexibility to offer Disney’s streaming services to its customers at no additional charge.

Charter, DirecTV and other distribution executives have chafed at Disney’s efforts to bypass distributors to offer its programming directly to consumers. Disney plans to roll out ESPN as a streaming service next year.

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The Burbank giant also teamed up with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corp. this year to offer a $43-a-month package of sports channels called Venu. But last month, a federal judge granted a temporary injunction, scuttling the fall launch of Venu, on antitrust grounds.

Distributors view such services as direct threats to their businesses.

DirecTV Chief Content Officer Rob Thun also said that Disney’s general counsel asked DirecTV to waive any legal claims against Disney that allege antitrust behavior as part of any distribution deal. That, too, became a sticking point during negotiations.

Last weekend, DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission alleging Disney has not been negotiating in good faith and its tactics were anticompetitive.

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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A chaotic scene unfolded at Auburn University on Tuesday night as a wild buzzer-beater was waved off well after the Tigers had celebrated on their own court.

With 0.6 seconds remaining and Auburn trailing 90-88, KeShawn Murphy, somehow left wide open, caught an inbounds pass and nailed a long 3-pointer for what was thought to be the game-winner.

However, officials went to the scorer’s table to review the play, which was awfully close.

 

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Auburn Tigers players watch the replay of a possible game-winning shot that was called back as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Ultimately, officials ruled that the shot had not gone off in time, ending the Tigers’ celebration and prompting one from Texas A&M.

The officials quickly made themselves public enemy number one and were showered with debris from fans on their way off the court. At least one referee needed his head to be covered.

One fan sitting courtside even turned his back and threw his drink over his shoulder aimed at an official.

“They didn’t say a word. They just said it was no good and ran off the floor. I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me in that moment, anyway,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who took over for his dad, Bruce this season, said after the game. “So, I get why they’d run away from me. Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like it was off his fingers. But that was just, I don’t have all the same angles they have.”

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Texas A&M Aggies players celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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It is now six losses in their last 10 games for the Tigers after starting 5-1. They lost in the Final Four last year to Florida, who won the national championship over Houston.

Auburn (9-6, 0-2) led 47-37 at halftime and extended the margin to 61-45 with 12:29 remaining.

KeShawn Murphy of the Auburn Tigers reacts after officials ruled that his last-second shot did not beat the shot clock to win the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 6, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)

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Texas A&M answered with a steady run fueled by outside shooting, taking its first lead at 8:42 when Pop Isaacs buried a 3-pointer. The Aggies followed with back-to-back triples from Isaacs to open a five-point cushion that they would not relinquish, by the skin of their teeth.

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

Two-time All-American wide receiver and prominent Outdoors Channel host Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after an accident on his ranch in Texas, his family said in a statement.

Shipley, 40, was described as stable after remaining hospitalized Tuesday night in Austin. The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire. The former Texas great suffered “severe burns on his body.”

Shipley abruptly retired in 2012 after three NFL seasons primarily because of persistent concussion issues and chronic knee problems. He quickly transitioned to television shows that showcased his passion for deer hunting, co-hosting “The Bucks of Tecomate” and “Tecomate Whitetail Nation.”

“It was not hard at all,” Shipley said at the time of retiring at 27. “Only because I never saw myself as a football player first. Don’t get me wrong, I worked my tail off for football and I loved it but never saw that as my whole identity because I had such a big background in outdoors. Really, with this opportunity I had I was actually pretty excited about moving forward.”

Although he enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 with 52 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns, he is best remembered as a record-setting player at Texas.

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Shipley starred as a receiver and a kick returner from 2006 to 2009, setting program single-season records in 2009 with 116 receptions and 1,489 yards. He also remains the career leader for receptions with 248 and ranks second in career receiving yards with 3,191, behind Roy Williams. Shipley also returned four punts or kickoffs for touchdowns.

After being drafted in the third round by the Bengals, he became one of the most popular players with Cincinnati fans, and his No. 11 jersey was worn by thousands. After a debilitating knee injury early in the 2011 season, he was never the same player, and he had short stints with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville before retiring.

According to his family, Jordan was operating a machine at his ranch when it caught fire. He managed to free himself from the machine, but “not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process.” Jordan was airlifted to the hospital in Austin.

“He was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition,” the statement said.

Shipley’s younger brother, former Texas wide receiver Jaxon Shipley, 33, asked for prayers in a statement on Instagram: “Please pray for full healing and no infections or other issues on his road to recovery. I don’t want to get into all the details, other than his life was spared today by the grace of God and the sheer will to live. I believe prayer is effective so I’m asking anyone and everyone to lift Jordan up in prayer.”

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been known to get visibly angry with his players over his years in East Lansing, but what happened Monday night against USC was different.

Izzo let loose his frustration on a former player.

During the Spartans’ blowout over the Trojans, 80-51, Izzo was spotted unloading on former Michigan State center Paul Davis, who played for the team from 2002-06, after he caused a disturbance in the stands.

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Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Referees pointed out Davis, who was a spectator, from his courtside seat after he was among many in the building who disagreed with a call in the second half. Davis stood up and shouted at referee Jeffrey Anderson.

Anderson responded with a loud whistle, stopping play and pointing at Davis. Then, Anderson went over to Izzo to explain what happened, and the 70-year-old coach went ballistic.

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First, he was motioning toward Davis, and it was clear he asked his former center, “What the f— are you doing?”

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Davis was met by someone asking him to leave his seat, and that’s when Izzo went nuts. He shouted “Get out of here!” at Davis, who appeared to gesture toward Izzo, perhaps in apology for disturbing the game.

Izzo was asked about Davis’ ejection after the game.

“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world,” Izzo responded when asked what happened. “That ticked me off. So, just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.’”

Izzo quickly clarified that what Davis said “wasn’t something racial” and “it wasn’t something sexual.”

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo protests a call that benefited the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center Dec. 2, 2025. (Dale Young/Imagn Images)

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“It was just the wrong thing to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis later met with reporters Tuesday, apologizing for his actions.

“I’m not up here to make any excuses. I’m up here to take accountability, to own it,” Davis said. It was a mistake that will never happen again. It was a mistake that’s not me, but, unfortunately, last night it was.”

Izzo said Davis was one of his “favorite guys” during his time playing for the Spartans. He had a breakout sophomore campaign with 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists per game in 30 starts for Izzo during the 2003-04 season.

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb.  (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

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In his senior year, Davis averaged 17.5 points, a career-high, in 33 games.

He was taken in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Davis played just four seasons in the league, his final one with the Washington Wizards.

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