How Spectrum customers can watch the UNC vs USC football game on Saturday
Due to an ongoing contract dispute, Spectrum cable customers have lost access to Disney-owned channels.
Disney networks went dark on Spectrum Thursday at 8 p.m., meaning college football fans weren’t able to watch week 1 games on ESPN and on Disney-owned ABC stations on Thursday. Other lost channels include FX, National Geographic and many other networks.
Charter Communications, which owns Spectrum, has been negotiating its carriage contract with The Walt Disney Company for months.
If an agreement is not reached before Saturday, many Spectrum customers may not be unable to watch the Duke’s Mayo Classic between the University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina, a football game airing on ABC. That is also the featured on ESPN’s College GameDay event on Saturday.
A note about ABC affiliates affected by the outage:
- In Charlotte, the ABC affiliate is WSOC, owned by Cox Media Group, so Charlotte area Spectrum viewers will not lose ABC.
- In Raleigh, the ABC affilliate is WTVD/ABC11, which is a Disney-owned-and-operated station. Raleigh Spectrum viewers cannot watch ABC during the dispute.
Here’s how Spectrum customers can watch the game during contract negotiations.
Switch providers
Spectrum customers can switch their cable or satellite provider to another service.
Disney has reached agreements with DISH and DirecTV, where all of their channels are available.
Note: Keep in mind that other cable or satellite providers may require that you sign a long-term contract to get service.
Subscribe to a streaming service
All Disney channels are available on streaming services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.
If you’re a new customer, you can subscribe to YouTube TV for $64.99 for your first three months, then $72.99 every month after for the base plan.
Hulu + Live TV subscriptions are $69.99 per month for new customers.
▪ More details about streaming options are available at nando.com/WarmTV.
Use an antenna
With a digital antenna, you can access ABC for free over-the-air, but all other channels affected by the contract disputes, including ESPN, would still be blacked out.
Digital antennas are available for purchase at stores like Walmart, Best Buy, or online at Amazon, for as little as $10.
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 1:19 PM.
