"Daniil Medvedev bringing down Disney Corporation was not on my US Open bingo card" - Fans react as ESPN reportedly provides free streaming to players

The news of ESPN, an American cable sports channel owned (80%) by The Walt Disney Company, providing free US Open streaming for players amid cable blackout in the country has left tennis fans in splits.

According to a report by the Financial Times, almost 15 million American pay-TV customers have been unable to watch the US Open live as Disney networks, including ESPN, blacked out. This is due to Disney being at loggerheads with pay-television provider Charter Communications.

It is not just fans who have been affected as tennis players are being forced to find creative, and maybe even illegal ways, to find ways to watch the matches of their opponents at the New York Major.

Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, recently admitted that he has been watching the matches online on pirated websites.

“I don’t know if it’s legal or illegal, but I have to find a way because I cannot watch [the matches] on TV. I got internet — how do you call it? — pirate websites, I watch tennis there. I have no other choice,” he said at a press conference.

This has led to the Disney network taking matters into its own hands by providing secure logins, for free, on the company's app to some players, including Medvedev. A spokesperson for ESPN confirmed the same to the Financial Times.

When the news broke on social media, fans were quick to find humor in the situation, with one stating that Medvedev "bringing down" the Disney Corporation was not something they had envisaged.

"Meddy bringing down the Disney Corporation was not on my USO bingo card," said one fan.

Another fan questioned why players were being given special treatment but fans were left in the dark.

"What about the fans, Disney, ESPN and Spectrum!? We’d love to watch the US Open too!" stated one user.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

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Daniil Medvedev reaches US Open 2023 QFs, qualifies for ATP Finals

Daniil Medvedev in action at the 2023 US Open.

On Monday (September 4), Daniil Medvedev came from a set down to defeat 13th seed Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 and book his spot in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open.

Medvedev, who has reached the last eight at the New York Major in four of his last five appearances, will next face compatriot and close friend Andrey Rublev, against whom he leads 5-2 in the head-to-head.

The win against de Minaur also officially confirmed Medvedev's qualification for the season-ending ATP Finals, which will be held in Turin from November 12-19. The 27-year-old Russian is the third player to qualify for the event, after Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.