General Hospital
Disney Goes Dark on DirecTV Over Contract Dispute Impacting ‘General Hospital’ ‘The Bachelorette Finale’ and Potentially NFL ‘Monday Night Football’ Opener
In another carriage dispute, Disney-owned channels including ABC and ESPN have pulled its programming from satellite provider DirecTV. The blackout is affecting most of its 11 million-plus subscribers in the U.S.
The decision to remove their programming and channels comes after the two sides failed to come to terms on a new carriage agreement, a business impasse that has been spreading throughout the pay TV sector.
The move came around 4 p.m. PT Sunday, about one hour before ABC began its live coverage of 2024 season kickoff college football game between the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers.

Photo: AP
A looming deadline to come to terms would seem to be Monday, September 9th, when ABC/ESPN are set to air the season premiere of Monday Night Football featuring the return of Aaron Rodgers (after his last season-ending injury in his first game as the quarterback of the New York Jets), who are now set to take on the San Francisco 49ers in their first game of the 2024-2025.
Meanwhile, this week on Tuesday, September 3rd, the season finale of The Bachelorette is set to air from 8-11pm ET, and now that will not be shown now on DirecTV. General Hospital will also be dark if watching via DirecTV as of now, to catch the fallout from Sonny shooting Agent Cates from Friday’s August 30th cliffhanger.

Photo: ABC
In the decision to pull its programming, Disney execs argued they had no choice when the contract expiration hit Sunday afternoon. Disney maintains that DirecTV refused to pay market rates for its channels and won’t make a deal involving support for its Disney+, Hulu and ESPN streaming venture.
Disney chiefs, Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro shared in a statement, “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,”
For their stake in the matter, Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV, shot back, “The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system. 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.”

Photo: DirecTV
It should be noted, DirecTV has pushed its programming partners for greater flexibility in creating smaller, lower-cost channel bundles. ESPN and other sports channels are among the biggest drivers of annual programming cost increases for MVPDs (Multichannel Video Programming Distributor) such as DirecTV. Disney counters that the cost of sports rights are going up, not down and that it has been open to new options, apropos of the deal that also ended the Charter Communications standoff.
DirecTV also stated,”Disney fills its ABC broadcast network airtime with cheap-to-produce primetime gameshows, unscripted spinoffs, old former ABC hits, or simulcast content from other Disney-owned channels like ESPN while demanding ever-increasing prices from distributors and ultimately consumers.”
So, do you watch any of your favorite shows or sports programming on Disney-related channels on DirecTV? Do you hope the standoff gets settled sooner than later to enable your viewing habits to go back to “normal” if using the satellite provider? Share your thoughts on the dispute via the comment section below.
I hope the amount of viewers who subscribe to Direct TV, and if they watch GH.can be determined.
I pay 4.99 a month for CityTV thru the Amazon Prime at 9.99 a month to watch GH.
Everything else I watch I use a free digital annetta.
CityTv is the channel I cannot recieve thru my digital annetta, mostly due to a huge building blocking the signal.
I guess I would pay GH 15 bucks a month for the enjoyment it brings.
Manitoba Canada GH fan
Are you being charged $9.99 for CityTV through Prime now? CityTV site says it’s $4.99 but when I go to subscribe on Prime it says it costs $9.99. Is Amazon really up-charging by $5.00/mo?
We pay a lot of money for Direct TV this is unacceptable!
It is unexpected, I had no notice & now no ABC channels I like. I’m searching for another subscriber.
Me to so upset that we were not notified about this been a directtv coustmer for over 20 years
Absolutely Unacceptable !!! I’m tired of this! I swear every other day I’m worried about this happening , abc is the channel I watch the most! I need a new system, I need to learn more about streaming but I love my DVR any suggestions?
I pay alot of money for Direct TV. We better get our channels back. Or i’m NOT paying a Bill for channels we don’t get no more.They took my CBS off me now. Now I have ABC & the rest of the Disney channels taken off me. This is unacceptable I’ll quit paying Direct TV if they keep taking my channels off
Comcast is pulling a similar scam right now, with the “Big Ten Football Network”. At exactly the same time that the football conference did a major expansion by adding the 4 best college football programs on the west coast.
There’s always some version of this con going on between a cable or satellite franchise and a “content provider” and they’re always timed right for the start of a season, whether it’s football season, the fall TV season (which overlap anyway) or the “march madness” basketball season.
And they wonder why we use “bootleg” streams here in Hell?
I agree Comcast did the same thing with Bally Sports! I switched to the Direct channel think these big companies need some regulations this is hard enough too hard on us to pay for these services
Unacceptable- no notice- I pay a lot for direct tv and if Disney wants more for it’s service than the price would be passed on to consumers and then it should be my decision to stay with direct tv or not but to just be disconnected without any notice is NOT acceptable.
This is totally unexpected and a disservice to all the loyal customers. Both sides should be ashamed of themselves. Greed greed greed is what runs our country. We deserve better than this. We already are forced to pay way to much, if we want to watch our favorites shows. Enough is enough.
I join with everyone else I am truly upset with Directtv that they can’t agree or work it out with Disney. I miss watching my local news on 6ABC of Philadelphia, watching General Hospital and all the shows that I watch. So I hope everything is worked out by September 3, 2024.
I am totally in agreement with you. We all pay too much as it is for Direct/AT&T & I feel like it’s almost intentional. I would like for our state governments, commissioners to step in & assist citizens with this.
This is bs, always something! Do it during the superbowl
Do we get a discount since we can’t watch the games we paid extra to watch
Disney done gone woke
I’m in complete agreement with all of you. I had no idea this was happening! Today of all days, GH fallout from Friday’s show & The Bachelorette Finale‼️
Not quite understanding how you equate paying for broadcasting rites with “gone woke”. Please elaborate.
Sounds like no one wants to own up, do the right thing and not screw over customers. If it’s Disney doing this, then I hope Florida Governor Ron DeSantis penalizes them harshly. Do whatever you want to them. If it’s Directv, shame on you for screwing your customersagain. You charge us way too much and keep raising your prices. I was about to find another provider anyway before the end of the year and use streaming services Hulu. I can see Bachelorette finale on ABC.com but I shouldn’t have to as I am paying Directv for that.
Meatball Ron doesn’t have anything to say about this. Di$ney’s broadcasting & streaming division doesn’t have anything to do with Di$ney World in Orlando. Or Di$neyland in Anaheim, for that matter.
This would be ALL Disney’s greedy fault! They don’t consider there to be enough money in the Solar system , to make them happy!
What about the debate that is supposed to air on ABC 9/10/24? Probably the most important debate in history and these people pull the channel so 11 million of us can’t see it? Makes a person wonder, doesn’t it?
It does. But we should be able to find out how we can pull the plug on Direct
I just did by canceling and going with Dish Network!
That’s a very good point. How convenient. I’m going to get on the band wagon and call directv and have them reimburse me for the channels I don’t get that I’m paying for.
The debate will be simulcast on other networks, just like the first debate between Biden and Trump. So even if the Disney/DirectTV dispute isn’t resolved by then, you’ll be able to watch it on another channel besides ABC.
If your ABC TV feed is still disrupted because of this greed fueled dragonshit next week, I’m sure they will be carrying the debate on the “ABC News Live” digital channel. Which is available as a YouTube stream, and also listed among the “live channels” on most of your popular streaming platforms Tubi/Roku/Pluto/Xumo etc.
A couple of options for y’all … try a digital antenna! You can pull in 50-70 channels for free, usually including all of your local broadcast affiliates. For ABC/FOX programming, you can watch it all on a delay with just a basic Hulu account. Neither of these will help you with ESPN programming, but it will get you your ABC shows and events.
It’s on other channels. First thing I checked and DVR’d
Please get this settled and give us a discount on our Direct account
The only channel I watch. Even ABC news is tolerable. Nbc, terrible, CBS, terrible…
So now no football, no GH , hope we all get refund for however many days we can’t watch!!!
UNREAL!
This happens too much with them..I’m done with them..They want their payment on time and I want my shows on time.
I hope that this depute is over soon. We deserve to have no interution in our program and sports, My US Open tennis on now. I love it and it cut off in the middle of matches.
UnAcceptable no notice no nothing but still going to be charged the same amount of money. Something needs to be done.
Absolutely no excuse. GH is one of the shows I watch every day and now I have no idea what’s going on. This is inexcusable for both parties. It’s not the way to settle this at the cost of subscribers
Put ABC CHANNEL 7 INCHICAGO BACK ON
Unacceptable they turned it off without any warning that’s nuts. Hope they come to agreement soon I’m a GH fan and missing my news as well.
I agree unacceptable to turr it off no notice. They need to refund us for the channels we can’t watch.
Pay them what they want and leave politics out of this.
Boo directv. We pay so much for your services. It’s time to look for a new provider. I’m so disappointed in this whole mess.
Just to let you know if we lose ABC or anymore channel we will change carriers…we already pay to much for the channels we like…so be advised you will lose a customer
I get dtv stream and it affects me too and we pay to much money for l this crap they show now fix it and I don’t mean raising our prices!!!! Next time give us warning these channels should be free!!
Greed is unstoppable, my Direct bill gos up & up , too expensive to go to Disney:: welcome to America Fire Stick here I come
If Direct TV don’t figure it out lm changing to someone else l need my General Hospitaluyquuhww
I had ATT for years – recently Uverse. When I had trouble with that I switched to Direct TV Streaming about 2 years ago. This is second time in a year we have lost ABC, which I watch for news,football and GH. I am going to check into other options for streaming to get live national and local newscasts I like, football and GH. I have Hulu and can watch GH the next day, but after a cliff hanger last Friday, the Labor Day rerun I was very disappointed not to be able to watch today when it was broadcast. It is very frustrating to pay for a service and not get it.
My one pleasure for the day is to record General Hospital and watch it in the evening I also enjoy Free form channel
I also pay Directv a lot of money so now I have to come to my daughters house to watch GH. Not fair to me or her So do I need to get another cable co or what .
Also 911 series just changed to ABC network starts this month new season hurry get my channels back
This is ridiculous. ATT is higher than most and we’re getting less than others. I’m searching for a new carrier. They lost this long time bundled client
SO UPSET!! I have watched General Hospital since day, one and now suddenly at 75 years of age I can’t watch it because of all this damn technology and crap. Not to mention the cost so ridiculous and now it’s not I won’t be able to watch the finale of the bachelorette either. Life is short and when you get old TV keeps you occupied and happy so much for happiness.
I am. Missing GH. Resolve your issues
It sucks if I can find a streaming company that’s not affected by this crap I will change providers. I might just go back to whatever channels I can get from my antenna. At least I won’t be pay these outragous prices, to get screwed over by greedy businesses.
I need ABC channel to go back on that’s one of the reasons I pay Direct tv they need to fix this ASAP!!! Like NOW
Yes, well, I have been on the fence about whether to give up a life long habit of watching GH. It’s gotten so bad. Looks like the contract dispute made the decision for me.
If this is not settled this week
I will be changing tv providers
I am elderly , live rurally been dtv customer for 20 years. What idiot takes off ESPN and sec on opening football weekend. I pay extra for sports pkg. guess dish will have new customer if it’s not settled by this weekend , been waiting for fall football since playoffs in Jan, really a dumbass administration.
It’s all about the Benjamin’s $$$!
My mom lives in an assisted living facility that uses DirecTV what a shame since she watches Channel 7 exclusively Disney with its billions of dollars has screwed poor elderly people out of some viewing pleasure total drag
Is Disney putting the squeeze on General Hospital? Crazy storylines…willow and Drew, really? Great actor departures…what’s up?
I am 78 years old and retired. I have been watching General Hospital for over 40 years. Please don’t take that show off and please settle this. Thank you
To estimate how many of the 10 million DIRECTV subscribers might be among the 2 million people who watch *General Hospital* daily, we can use the following approach:
1. **Proportion of U.S. households with DIRECTV:** As of recent data, DIRECTV had around 10 million subscribers, and there are approximately 123 million households in the U.S. This means about 8.13% of U.S. households have DIRECTV.
2. **Proportion of DIRECTV households among viewers:** If we assume the viewership of *General Hospital* is uniformly distributed across different TV providers, then approximately 8.13% of the 2 million *General Hospital* viewers would be DIRECTV subscribers.
– **Calculation:**
\[
2,000,000 \times 0.0813 \approx 162,600
\]
So, an estimated **162,600 DIRECTV subscribers** are among the 2 million people who watch *General Hospital* daily.
This estimate assumes that viewership is evenly distributed among TV providers, which may not be perfectly accurate but provides a reasonable approximation. It’s all about the math.
I live in Louisiana. I don’t have DirecTV. But…in my neck of the woods, I know A LOT of people who have DirecTV. And…they are not gonna be very happy whenever they hear this. At all.
I’ve been watching WABC tv since I was born, I only got direct tv, because I had this same problem with Spectrum, however now I see that the common denominator is Disney. Disney even wants to own all these channels under the guise that they are offering Affordable bundles, however in order to watch other channels that people wish to watch we have to have cable cable and 10,000 bundle packages, I want to watch most of my channels under one package bundle, bundle, bundle, holding customers hostage by being a monopolizer of television networks. Disney Should either offer cable packages or lead things up to programming networks. Disney was built on the principles of family friendly entertainment. Yet now Disney has become divisive and controlling. I don’t find this practice fair to consumers, and I am quite frankly a little upset. I changed cable packages just for this reason only to find out that Disney is the guilty one.
Breaking News
53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards Presenters Announced

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) revealed on Thursday, the lineup of presenters for 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards taking place on Friday, October 30, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.
The ceremony will stream live on the NATAS YouTube channel at YouTube.com/@theemmys and watch.TheEmmys.tv.
Scheduled to present from the current soaps are: Katelyn MacMullen (Willow, General Hospital), Delon de Metz (Zende, The Bold and the Beautiful), James Preston (Nick, The Bay), Paul Telfer (Xander, Days of our Lives), Tamara Tunie (Anita, Beyond the Gates) and Susan Walters (Diane, The Young and the Restless).

Photo: NATAS
In addition soap alums, Crystal Chappell, Lesli Kay, Joe Lando, Eva LaRue, who is also a nominee this year, A Martinez, Juliet Mills, and Alicia Leigh Willis, will also be on hand to present.
The ceremony which celebrates nominated lifestyle programs and dramas will also include presenters: Eva zu Beck (Superskilled with Eva zu Beck), Danielle Chang (Lucky Chow), Sunny Hostin (The View), Derek Hough (Extra), Pati Jinich (Pati’s Mexican Table), Star Jones (Divorce Court), Michael Jr. (Stand Up and Do Something), Judge Greg Mathis (Mathis Court with Judge Mathis), Keke Palmer (Glam Through the Ages), Nischelle Turner (Entertainment Tonight), and Andrew Zimmern (Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen).
The 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards will bring together an exciting mix of presenters representing the full spectrum of daytime television,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO of NATAS. “From familiar faces in daytime drama to the personalities and creative voices behind talk shows and lifestyle programming, this year’s lineup reflects the breadth of talent that makes daytime so special. We look forward to celebrating the people who continue to shape the genre.”
Matthew Hoffman (Love Island USA, Cheap A$$ Beach Houses) will serve as the ceremony’s Voice of God, bringing his signature comedic narration to the evening’s celebrations. As previously announced, Lifetime Achievement honoree Genie Francis (Laura, General Hospital) will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by her husband, Jonathan Frakes.
So, what do you think about the list of presenters for the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards? Let us know who you are looking forward to seeing via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Could Kristen Vaganos and Josh Kelly Be Exiting ‘General Hospital?’

General Hospital fans took to social media following the airing of the Wednesday, October 21 episode of the ABC daytime drama series. In story, Molly (Kristen Vaganos) reveals to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) that she has received an offer to join the top law firm in Chicago that practices civil law. She says it’s her dream job.
The problem Molly says is relocating from Port Charles and uprooting her life and being away from her mother, Scout and boyfriend Cody Bell (Josh Kelly). Wistful that she may lose another daughter to a long-distance situation (Kristina left a few months back to go to medical school in California), Alexis urged Molly to get Cody to go with her.
Molly still seemed concerned and has trouble committing to the idea. Alexis tells her to talk it over with Cody. Meanwhile, Cody asked Tracy (Jane Elliot) is he can have Thanksgiving off because he and Molly planned to spend Thanksgiving together with their families. After initially balking, Tracy agrees.

Courtesy/ABC
WILL MOLLY AND CODY HEAD TO CHI-TOWN?
Later, Cody shows up at Miller & Davis and the conversation turned to Thanksgiving dinner that Alexis is hosting. Molly and Cody asked her not to cook anything. Cody hugged Molly reassuring Alexis that he and Molly would take care of whatever was needed on Turkey Day.
So, this raises the question, why out of nowhere are we learning that Molly received an amazing law offer in Chicago, if the character was not being written out? If Molly leaves the canvas, would the character of Cody make his exit too?
Kristen Vaganos joined GH as a recast Molly Lansing-Davis back in September of 2023 and went on contract in August of 2024. Josh Kelly began playing Cody Bell back in June of 2022. Initial reports were that Kelly joined the show on contract and then as of June 2025 went on recurring status with the show per his choice.
Do you see a world where GH is writing out Molly and Cody? Would you be sad to see Kristen and Josh exit the soap opera? If this is not what is going on, is this just a plot point for some other story that is upcoming? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.
General Hospital
Kin Shriner Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ TV Daughter Kelly Kruger

It’s been over two-years since his last appearance on General Hospital, now fan favorite Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin) has taken to social media to share his thoughts on the casting of his grown-up TV daughter, Serena Baldwin now played by Kelly Kruger.
Kelly took over the role of Serena on-screen starting with the July 30, 2026 episode and has been ensconced in the storyline with her mother, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), in trying to win back full creative control of Deception for her.
In fact on the Monday, October 19 episode of the ABC soap opera, Serena tried to dupe Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) into signing over Michael’s (Rory Gibson) shares of the company. Jason caught on and wondered why she was doing this. She claimed she just wanted to help her mom gain creative control from Tracy (Jane Elliot) rather than full ownership, and begged Jason to keep quiet about it, which he agreed to for now.

Courtesy/ABC
WHERE IS SCOTT?
On Monday, Shriner also took to X and said, “I think Kelly Kruger is doing a great job on General Hospital, and she and Lynn Herring work well together.” That was followed by comments in his thread about the show needing to bring back Scott too.
In fact, back on August 25, Shriner also took to X with a reminder that Scott is still around and ready to come back to Port Charles, sharing, “Scotty Baldwin always fits in he just needs the right sport coat !!!!”
The last time Serena mentioned her father Scott was when Kruger made her debut and informed Lucy that her father was, “living his best life in Key West.” Meanwhile, Shriner posts on his X account continually and shared back on August 2, that it has been 49 years since he made his on-screen debut as then teenaged, Scotty Baldwin and thanked the fans for al the love and support.
So, now let us know, are you enjoying Kelly Kruger as Serena Baldwin? Do you want to see GH bring back Scott Baldwin into the story, so Serena has both her parents in Port Charles? Do you like the potential of Jason and Serena pairing? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
-

Beyond the Gates2 days agoTabitha Brown and Kandi Burruss Guest Star on ‘Beyond the Gates’ for Dani’s ‘Welcome to Your Life’ TV Special; What Could Go Wrong?
-

Beyond the Gates7 days ago‘Beyond the Gates’ Stars Lami and RhonniRose Mantilla Cover Raye’s ‘Nightingale Lane’ in New Music Video
-

Recaps7 days agoTHE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Stands Up to Brooke, ‘I Have Spent My Entire Life Sacrificing My Happiness for Yours. But No More!’
-
Days Of Our Lives4 days agoDays of our Lives’ Conner Floyd Talks Dominic Marino Mystery, Chad and Belle, and Susan Seaforth Hayes (Exclusive)
-

Previews5 days agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: What Has Happened to Jill?
-

General Hospital6 days agoWil Traval Talks His ‘General Hospital’ Debut and Being Paired with Kelly Thiebaud
-
News1 week agoY&R’s Jason Thompson and Courtney Hope to Chat Live on the Michael Fairman Channel
-
Beyond the Gates6 days ago‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Marquita Goings to Chat Live on the Michael Fairman Channel











