ESPN-Spectrum update: Why Alabama football fans can't watch Texas game on TV in Week 2
No. 3 Alabama's matchup vs. No. 10 Texas is undoubtedly the top game of college football's Week 2 schedule, pitting Nick Saban against his former assistant in Steve Sarkisian in a rematch of last year's narrow victory for the Crimson Tide in Austin.
But fans throughout the country who subscribe to Spectrum's cable TV service won't be able to watch Saturday's highly anticipated game on ESPN amid an ongoing carriage fee dispute between Charter and Disney. The former blacked out all Disney-owned channels on Thursday, Aug. 31, including the entire ESPN family of networks.
What does that mean for Alabama and Texas fans — or any college football fan who wants to watch the top-10 matchup? They will need to find alternate means to watch the game, or miss it entirely.
Here's an update on everything you need to know about the ESPN-Spectrum dispute, why Spectrum fans can't watch the Alabama-Texas game and different options to watch the top-10 matchup without cable.
MORE: Watch Alabama vs. Texas live with Fubo (free trial)
ESPN-Spectrum update
Spectrum and Disney both issued statements when the latter's channels were blacked out on cable TV giant's services. Neither issued another statement until Monday, when Disney provided a statement blaming the onus of the outages on Charter:
"Disney deeply values its relationship with its viewers and is hopeful Charter is ready to have more conversations that will restore access to its content to Spectrum customers as quickly as possible. However, if you are one of these frustrated customers, it can be infuriating to not be able to access the content you want. Luckily, consumers have more choices today than ever before to immediately access the programming they want without a cable subscription."
What channel is Alabama on today?
TV channel: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN app, Fubo (free trial)
REQUIRED READING: Alabama football vs. Texas: Score prediction, scouting report
Alabama's game vs. Texas is on ESPN, one of the channels included in the Disney-Spectrum blackout. That means any Spectrum fans who don't otherwise subscribe to a streaming service will be unable to watch the game. Luckily for those fans, there are myriad options to stream the game online.
How to watch Alabama football today
Spectrum fans who want to watch the Crimson Tide take on the Longhorns — or any game on the ESPN family of networks — will not be able to do so without a subscription to a streaming service. However, myriad services exist that include Disney-owned channels, ESPN included. Some of those are YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV.
Another option is Fubo, which not only carries the entire ESPN family of networks, but also offers a free trial.
What ESPN channels are included in Disney-Spectrum blackout?
Several Disney-owned channels are blacked out on Spectrum amid the dispute, including the ESPN family of networks. Those are:
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPN Deportes
ESPNU
ESPN News
SEC Network
ACC Network
Longhorn Network
CFB WEEK 2: Six blockbuster games to watch, including Texas at Alabama
Spectrum statement on ESPN blackout
Spectrum has issued the following statement on all blacked out channels since Disney outages began on Thursday, Aug. 31:
"The Walt Disney Company has removed their programming from Spectrum which creates hardship for our customers. We offered Disney a fair deal, yet they are demanding an excessive increase," the statement reads. "They also want to limit our ability to provide greater customer choice in programming packages forcing you to take and pay for channels you may not want.
"Spectrum is on your side and fighting to keep costs down while protecting and maximizing customer choice. The rising cost of programming is the single greatest factor in higher cable TV prices, and we are fighting hard to hold the line on programming rates imposed on us by companies like Disney.
"We apologize for the inconvenience. We understand how important it is to be able to access your programming content and have solutions for you."
Charter CEO Chris Winfrey issued a brief statement on Thursday at a tech conference in San Francisco stressing his company is "urgent" to get a deal done with Disney.
“I apologize that our consumers have been put in the middle here, but we felt it was worth it,” Winfrey said (via Reuters). “It was the right time and that we had to say 'enough is enough' or else we're going to have to move on to a different model.”
Disney statement on ESPN blackout
Disney also issued a statement at the outset of the outages:
“We’ve been in ongoing negotiations with Charter Communications for some time and have not yet agreed to a new market-based agreement," Disney's statement reads. "As a result, their Spectrum TV subscribers no longer have access to our unrivaled portfolio of live sporting events and news coverage plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from the ABC Owned Television Stations, the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels.
"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.”
It followed up with another statement on Monday:
"Disney deeply values its relationship with its viewers and is hopeful Charter is ready to have more conversations that will restore access to its content to Spectrum customers as quickly as possible. However, if you are one of these frustrated customers, it can be infuriating to not be able to access the content you want. Luckily, consumers have more choices today than ever before to immediately access the programming they want without a cable subscription."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Alabama-Texas game: Why some Crimson Tide fans can't watch on Spectrum
