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Walt Disney<\/a> Co.\u2019s fight with the DirecTV pay-television service is costing the companies.<\/p>\n Disney\u2019s\u00a0Monday Night Football\u00a0<\/em>broadcast on ABC and ESPN\u00a0attracted<\/a>\u00a0a US TV audience of 20.5 million viewers in its season debut, the company said Tuesday, a drop of 9.7% from last year that reflects the blackout of DirecTV\u2019s 11 million or so customers.<\/p>\n Subscribers to that service have been blocked from watching ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned networks because the two sides can\u2019t come to terms on how much DirecTV should pay for the company\u2019s sports, news and entertainment programming. Over the weekend, DirecTV viewers couldn\u2019t watch the US Open tennis finals.<\/p>\n The dispute is exacting a toll on both companies, which were already suffering from years of viewer losses as audiences canceled traditional pay-TV services for streaming.<\/p>\n DirecTV, which is owned by AT&T Inc. and TPG<\/a> Inc., is offering consumers a $20 refund for the lost Disney services. The company was\u00a0paying<\/a>\u00a0Disney about $2 billion a year.<\/p>\n Monday Night Football\u00a0<\/em>is among the most popular shows on TV, and the loss of DirecTV customers, representing about 15% of the US cable TV population, will reduce Disney\u2019s revenue. The broadcast averages about $45 million in ad sales per game, according to Bloomberg Intelligence estimates, or about $765 million annually.<\/p>\n The program\u00a0averaged<\/a>\u00a0more than 17 million viewers a night last season. The 2023 season opener between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills attracted nearly 23 million. Last night\u2019s game featured the San Francisco 49ers in a 32-19 victory over the New York Jets.<\/p>\n The telecast also marked the debut of podcaster and former NFL player Jason Kelce as part of the broadcast team.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never felt better about where we are from a talent perspective on NFL right now,\u201d ESPN content chief Burke Magnus said Tuesday at a Front Office Sports media conference. \u201cHe kind of gave us right out of the chute exactly what we were hoping for last night. He\u2019s fun, funny, casual and he\u2019s himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Ratings for the US Open tennis finals weren\u2019t strong, according to ESPN, partly the result of competition from college and professional football. The network didn\u2019t reveal any numbers.<\/p>\n US Open tennis, while not as popular as the NFL,\u00a0attracted<\/a>\u00a0a record 3.4 million viewers to the women\u2019s final last year, when up-and-coming US star Coco Gauff took home the championship. The men\u2019s final drew 2.3 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n