Charter-Disney cable TV dispute leaves some NFL, U.S. Open fans in the dark

Football fans will be the next biggest losers if an epic battle between Walt Disney and Charter Communications fails to settle before the kickoff of Monday Night Football next week.

ESPN and other Disney channels disappeared from Charter’s Spectrum cable service on Aug. 31, as contract negotiations reached an impasse. That deprived nearly 15 million Spectrum cable subscribers of access to key sporting events, potentially including Saturday’s U.S. Open match pitting 19-year-old American Coco Gauff against the world’s highest ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka, in the women’s final.