11 million DirectTV subscribers left without access to Walt Disney Company channels

The fight between DirectTV and The Walt Disney Company continues to rage and has reached a fever pitch. The mouse company on Sunday decided to cut off the signal they had with provider DirectTV and sent all their channels to black during the US Open match that ended with the disqualification of tennis player Coco Gauff.

The decision came after both companies failed to reach a new distribution agreement, leaving 11 million subscribers without a signal.

A particularly troubling development for sports fans who saw the ESPN channel go black just days before the start of American football and the NFL season.

That angered millions of people as a result. Rob Thun, DirecTV's chief content officer, asserted in a statement obtained by CNN that Disney would have to "be held accountable."

"The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system."Rob Thun, DirectTV's chief content officer.

Along with this, Thun assured that the entertainment giant had simply been engaged in raising prices, without taking into account that consumers are the ones who pay for it and cannot continue to bear such exorbitant costs. Thus, it had denied DirecTV from offering more flexible packages that could better meet consumers' interests.

"Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions. They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers - making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price," said DirecTV's chief content officer.

The Walt Disney Company claimed in a press release that it did not intend to agree to anything that "undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs."

"While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs. We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming."

Until then, The Walt Disney Company assured, its television channels, including ESPN, ABC, Hulu, Freeform, FX, Disney Channel and National Geographic, will continue to be blacked out and will not be viewable on DirecTV.