Here’s how sports fans in Columbus, Georgia can watch college football & U.S. Open

Brittany McGee
·2 min read
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While Charter Spectrum and Walt Disney Co. wage their dispute, sports fans who have Spectrum are left trying to figure out how to watch the U.S. Open and Week 2 of college football this weekend.

Disney pulled its channels from Spectrum’s pay-TV service on Sept. 1, days before the first week of college football. The entertainment programming that Disney pulled includes the ABC-owned stations, the ESPN networks, Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels.

A Sept. 4 statement from Disney acknowledges the impact the dispute has had on Spectrum customers’ ability to watch major sporting events, but does not indicate any end to the dispute.

Disney also used the release to encourage Spectrum customers to switch to Hulu + Live TV, the company’s streaming option, that starts at $69.99 a month. Other streaming services that include the affected networks include:

  • DIRECTV Stream

  • YouTube TV

  • Sling TV

  • Fubo

Spectrum customers may also visit keepmynetworks.com to find providers in their local areas.

In Columbus, options to watch Disney programming include the streaming networks along with DIRECTV, Dish and Mediacom.

The company WOW offers internet bundles with discounts for Youtube TV.

In a statement by Spectrum, the company states the dispute stems from Disney demanding an “excessive increase.”

A screenshot of the message shown by Spectrum when a customer tries to view ESPN.
A screenshot of the message shown by Spectrum when a customer tries to view ESPN.

Disney has pulled programming from YouTube TV in 2021 and Dish and Sling in 2022, according to Spectrum’s statement.

“This impact to customers is consistent with past practices from Disney, no matter who you get your service from,” the statement reads.

The Ledger-Enquirer wants to know what readers think about this ongoing dispute. Would losing these channels make readers switch providers? Which Disney-owned network would readers hate to lose the most? How many readers have Spectrum?

Take the poll below to find out how the loss of ESPN and National Geographic might affect readers’ decisions when it comes to television providers.