ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football.

Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirecTV Sunday night after the sides were unable to reach a new carriage agreement.

The move angered some sports fans, who posted their displeasure on social media. And the U.S. Tennis Association wasn’t pleased with another carriage dispute.

ESPN was showing the fourth round of the U.S. Open when it went off the air on DirecTV at 7:20 p.m. ET.

That was a half-hour before the start of the match between Frances Tiafoe, an American who reached the 2022 U.S. Open semifinals, and Alexei Popyrin, an Australian who eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday.

“It is disappointing that fans and viewers around the country will not have the opportunity to watch the greatest athletes in our sport take part in the 2024 U.S. Open due to an unresolved negotiation between DirecTV and Disney, resulting in the loss of access to ESPN. We are hopeful that this dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible,” the USTA said in a statement.

It also happened 10 minutes before the start of the college football game between No. 13 LSU and 23rd-ranked Southern California in Las Vegas.

ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh, North Carolina, also went off DirecTV.

Last year, Disney and Spectrum — the nation’s second-largest cable TV provider — were involved in a nearly 12-day impasse until coming to an agreement hours before the first Monday night NFL game of the season.

DirecTV said Disney offered an extension to keep the channels on the air in exchange for DirecTV having to waive all future legal claims that its behavior is anti-competitive.

“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” said Rob Thun, DirecTV’s chief content officer, in a statement. “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.”

DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.

Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, co-chairmen of Disney Entertainment, and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro issued a joint statement urging DirecTV to finalize a deal.

The statement added that “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.”

The impasse comes as networks and distributors continue to be at odds over content. Distributors and subscribers would like to see a model where they can buy channels a la carte instead of subscribing to a bundling package.

Distributors are also frustrated with production companies putting some of their premium programing on direct-to-consumer platforms before they show up on channels. DirecTV cited the miniseries “Shogun” appearing on Hulu before FX.

“Consumer frustration is at an all-time high as Disney shifts its best producers, most innovative shows, top teams, conferences, and entire leagues to their direct-to-consumer services while making customers pay more than once for the same programming on multiple Disney platforms,” Thun said. “Disney’s only magic is forcing prices to go up while simultaneously making its content disappear.”

Besides all ESPN network channels and ABC-owned stations, Disney-branded channels Freeform, FX and National Geographic channel went dark on DirecTV.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal has a longstanding bet on the Olympics, but this summer the company threw all of its resources at the Games in a bid to grab more viewership — especially for its growing streaming platform, Peacock.

It appears to have paid off so far — more than 30 million people tuned in to NBC’s TV and streaming platforms to watch the games, and a record $1.2 billion in advertising revenue was generated.

NBC executives, having touted the Olympics as a growth driver and differentiator in the increasingly crowded landscape of streaming and live sports, are now looking to extend the benefit beyond the Games and into future live sports.

“We completely changed the game plan internally. We ripped up the playbook two years ago,” said Jenny Storms, chief marketing officer of entertainment and sports at NBCUniversal. “It was very scary at the time to take the institutional knowledge that we had for so long and rip it up and start over. We really started new and fresh in totality, from production to company wide counterparts.”

The Olympics have long been key to NBCUniversal. Paris marked the 18th Olympic Games broadcast by NBC in the U.S. The company renewed the rights in 2014, agreeing to pay $7.65 billion for the Games between 2022 and 2032, amounting to more than $1.2 billion for each.

Just before Paris, efforts had fallen flat. The 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Olympics drew the lowest-ever audiences for Summer and Winter Games, respectively.

Storms noted there were factors at play in those last two Olympic Games that were largely out of NBCUniversal’s control.

Both of the Games were shrouded by the early stage of the pandemic. Tokyo was postponed by a year, and fans and families weren’t present at either games. The time zone difference from Asia worked against the U.S. broadcast, too.

But notably the strategy for Peacock during those Games appeared to be the biggest misstep. In Tokyo, very few events were available to stream live on Peacock. In Beijing, the live content was there, but fans had trouble finding what they wanted to watch.

“We made a claim that Peacock would be the home of the Olympics, and we didn’t exactly deliver,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. “We were nervous about how much content to put on there, how to program it and how to cross-deliver it [with traditional TV]. And we were rightly told by the fanbase that we didn’t deliver what we said we would.”

Executives across the company have credited Paris as a part of the success of this year’s Olympics, between the eye-catching scenery — with the Opening Ceremony on the Seine River and beach volleyball played in front of the Eiffel Tower, to name a couple — and favorable time zone working in NBC’s favor.

The company also began marketing the Olympics much earlier this time around, employing various parts of NBCUniversal to get the word out, from news programs and talk shows, to various forms of advertising, Storms said.

Both Storms and Lazarus also noted the success of airing the Olympic trials in the weeks before the games.

“We never really pushed hard with the trials before,” Storms said. “But it was the most streamed trials ever, and it was important to warm America up.”

And then there was the star factor of NBCUniversal’s internal roster.

The company used its own talent more strategically in 2024, executives said. Besides airing promos for content, NBC A-listers were integrated into the events themselves, co-hosting and reporting from the sidelines. Fan favorite Snoop Dogg, a special correspondent for NBC Olympics, generated social media buzz and drew more eyes to the live events. And, his stand-out presence in Paris helped promote his upcoming role with NBC’s “The Voice” this fall.

“We had a great experience with Snoop, we are definitely in the Snoop business with ‘The Voice,’ and hope to be in the Snoop business in the future,” said Lazarus, adding NBCUniversal doesn’t have a commitment yet with Snoop Dogg for future Olympics.

Other NBC talent attended the Games to promote their projects, too. Mariska Hargitay, who’s played the character Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU” since 1999, was in Paris promoting the show’s 26th season. A variety of “Saturday Night Live” cast members were present, including Colin Jost, who covered surfing in Tahiti and had to make an early exit due to health issues.

Shows from both NBC and Peacock were also promoted at the Games, and Universal’s upcoming film, “Wicked,” was highlighted often, with stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo appearing on the Opening Ceremony red carpet.

The “Wicked” actors also voiced a promotional piece for U.S. gymnastics powerhouse Simone Biles, and an exclusive clip of the film was aired during the “Today” show from Paris. NBC said among moviegoers, ”‘Wicked’ gained ground across measures during the Olympics, doubling our level of top of mind awareness, and increasing total awareness,” according to polling.

Arguably no NBC property shined brighter during the Olympics than streaming platform, Peacock.

Due in large part to Peacock, 23.5 billion minutes of the Olympics were streamed, up 40% from all prior Summer and Winter Olympics combined, according to a release.

“Peacock delivered in every way that we hadn’t before,” said Lazarus.

Besides having all live coverage, exclusive shows like “Gold Zone,” hosted by Scott Hanson of “NFL Red Zone,” gave fans more options for all-day viewing. There were also features built solely for the Olympics, such as an artificial intelligence function featuring daily recaps in the voice of Al Michaels, a longtime voice of marquee NFL games.

An estimated 2.8 million consumers signed up for Peacock during the first week of the Summer Games, averaging nearly 400,000 additions daily, according to data provider Antenna. This nearly matched the sign ups driven by Peacock’s exclusive NFL Wild Card game in January, according to Antenna. The game is considered the most streamed live event in history with 27.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

While Comcast recently reported Peacock had 33 million paid customers as of June 30 — 500,000 less than the prior period, and widely attributed to the loss of customers exiting after the Wild Card game —analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson said it’s worth noting the customers that remained since the Wild Card game.

“I suspect they’ll have the same experience with the Olympics,” Moffett said. “Sure, some of those customers will leave but they will probably end up keeping a lot more than not.”

Still, traditional TV made up the bulk of viewership during the Paris Games — nearly 90% of viewers watched on broadcast and cable channels, Lazarus said. Aided by the more favorable time zone, NBC aired live events on TV and Peacock during the day and rebranded the evening broadcast as “Primetime in Paris,” replaying big events with sidecar programming and interviews.

The strategy used in Paris will serve as the roadmap for future Olympics — the Milan Winter Olympics in 2026 and Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028 — as well as other live sports aired on NBC’s TV networks and Peacock, executives said.

Shortly after the 2024 Olympics comes the new seasons of English Premier League soccer, American college football and National Football League. NBC will also be the rights holder of National Basketball Association games beginning in the 2025-2026 season.

“I think Peacock is getting much more sophisticated, as we’ve seen with the Olympics, in how they can do sports coverage,” said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at Perkins Coie.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

German automotive giant Volkswagen is bracing for a showdown with trade unions shortly after it said it cannot rule out shutting factories in its home country for the first time in its nearly 90-year history.

Volkswagen’s management is expected to lay out its plans before about 18,000 workers at a town hall meeting in Wolfsburg on Wednesday morning, amid speculation that the carmaker could push to close sites in Osnabrueck in Lower Saxony and Dresden in Saxony.

A spokesperson for Volkswagen was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Tuesday.

In a move that underlines the challenges facing Europe’s top legacy carmakers, Volkswagen warned on Monday that it would no longer be able to rule out plant closures in Germany.

The Wolfsburg-headquartered company also said it felt compelled to bring an end to its employment protection agreement — a job security program that has been in place since 1994 — in order to secure “urgently needed structural adjustments for greater competitiveness in the short term.”

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume said in a written statement on Monday that the carmaker would need to “act decisively” in order to future-proof the company.

“The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation,” Blume said.

“The economic environment became even tougher, and new competitors are entering the European market. In addition, Germany in particular as a manufacturing location is falling further behind in terms of competitiveness,” he added.

Volkswagen said that all necessary measures would be discussed with the General Works Council — a group of elected staff members that represent the interests of a company’s workforce — and with top German industrial union IG Metall. Both groups, which hold significant influence at the company, have been sharply critical of the proposals.

Daniela Cavallo of Volkswagen’s General Works Council said that the faction would “fight bitterly” against the potential plant closure measures, while a spokesperson for IG Metall described the plan as one that “shakes the foundations of Volkswagen and poses a massive threat to jobs and locations.”

Shares of Volkswagen dipped 0.8% at around 2:15 p.m. London time on Tuesday, paring gains from the previous session. Volkswagen’s stock price has fallen by more than 33% over the past five years.

The downturn comes amid a difficult economic environment for the carmaker and an influx of new rivals in Europe, as Volkswagen attempts to survive the transition to electric cars.

“The situation is extremely tense and cannot be resolved through simple cost-cutting measures,” VW brand CEO Thomas Schäfer said on Monday.

“This is why we want to initiate discussions with employee representatives as soon as possible to explore the possibilities for sustainably restructuring the brand,” he added.

Volkswagen’s plans to consider unprecedented plant closures in Germany comes at a politically fraught time for Europe’s largest economy. Led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the ruling three-way coalition in Berlin was dealt a heavy blow in regional votes over the weekend.

“The German automotive industry stands for globally successful products and innovations. It is a central pillar for growth and prosperity in Germany,” a German government spokesperson told CNBC by email, without commenting specifically on Volkswagen’s planned measures.

“At the same time, it is currently in a challenging phase of transformation towards electromobility. This also requires the adaptation of traditional structures and measures for greater competitiveness,” the spokesperson added, according to a Google translation.

“A close social partnership is a hallmark of the German automotive industry. The Federal Government therefore appeals to the social partners involved to continue to fulfil this responsibility in the future.”

Thomas Besson, head of automotive research at Kepler Cheuvreux, said the problems at Volkswagen reflect an “industry-wide story.”

“We are seeing a major fragmentation story of the global automotive landscape,” Besson told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Tuesday.

“The situation … is also specific to Volkswagen, in the sense that they have put in place a number of guarantees for workers,” he added.

— CNBC’s Annette Weisbach contributed to this report.

Football is back, and it’s expected to bring with it record-breaking betting.

U.S. adults will wager $35 billion this NFL season, according to projections from the American Gaming Association.

That would mark more than 30% growth over the $26.7 billion Americans wagered over the course of last year’s season of the National Football League, according to the AGA, and would set a fresh record. Since last NFL season, Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have allowed sports betting operators to launch in their states. And court decisions have permitted Hard Rock International to relaunch sports betting in Florida.

Today, sports betting is live and legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

And yet stocks in the gambling companies aren’t following the same growth trajectory. Shares of DraftKings, Penn, Caesars, MGM Resorts and Entain, which jointly own BetMGM, are all negative year to date. Flutter, owner of FanDuel, is up 19%, after listing on the New York Stock Exchange this year. It posted second-quarter earnings that trounced expectations for revenue and profit, giving shares a lift.

Churchill Downs is positive on the year and Rush Street Interactive has posted notable gains of 109% year to date.

Each of the licensed sportsbooks is working on strategies to claim a bigger share of the action, trying to attract new customers and convince established players to show more brand loyalty.

NFL kickoff is an opportunity to launch new and improved technology or innovative wagers that entice players. Sportsbooks tailor their promotions to reach new customers.

“The NFL season is our biggest acquisition period of the year,” said Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, the nation’s leading sportsbook.

FanDuel is the only one to partner with YouTube to roll out a “Sunday Ticket” offer. Players who wager $5 get a three-week trial to watch out-of-market NFL games with “Sunday Ticket.” FanDuel hopes allowing fans to watch their favorite teams will lead to more wagering.

FanDuel also said it has tweaked its app design and added more bets to its Same Game Parlay. It’s upgraded features so fans can wager at “the speed of sports,” the company said.

With more than 95% of sports wagers now happening online, speed matters. That’s especially true when it comes to micro-betting: wagers made on specific plays as the game unfolds.

Fanatics, Michael Rubin’s e-commerce empire that includes sports merchandise and memorabilia, launched its sportsbook last year in four markets. Since then, Fanatics Sportsbook acquired PointsBet’s U.S. operations and technology, which is now fully integrated. And its sportsbook is now live in 22 states.

It’s a pretty impressive ramp for a newcomer to the industry.

Fanatics Sportsbook relies on the existing database of 100 million sports fans for customer acquisition throughout the year and rewards them with products from the merchandise and collectibles businesses.

And just before the start of the 2024 football season, Fanatics hosted a blockbuster fan activation called Fanatics Fest NYC where customers could meet athletes and celebrities and celebrate their passion for sports.

Fanatics Sportsbook CEO Matt King told CNBC the customer response was effusive.

“We’ve seen incredible positive sentiment and resonance with our proposition of being the most rewarding sportsbook, both in terms of the economic value of what we give back as well as, frankly, the unique things we can do,” King said.

King said unique player rewards build into the crescendo of the sports calendar, what he described as the “sports equinox” — that time during the fall when nearly every sport is being played on overlapping schedules.

DraftKings said the NFL is its most popular league by both handle and number of bets it accepts.

The sportsbook, which recently pulled back on a plan to tax customers in high-tax states, is offering a “No Touchdown” prop bet this season, meaning bettors will now be able to wager on whether a top player does not score a touchdown.

With its shares off 28% this year and its digital business in the red, there is a spotlight and scrutiny on Penn Entertainment. This is its first full NFL season to show off ESPN Bet, its $2 billion investment on a rebranded sportsbook in partnership with the Disney-owned sports juggernaut. It first launched in November last year, smack in the middle of NFL season.

Since then, the platform has grown its customer database to 31 million members, an 80% gain. Penn’s leaders are optimistic about its media integration with ESPN.

“People are active in our app, and our goal over the next several quarters is to drive higher loyalty and retention and better monetize the significant engagement activity through improved product and expanded offerings,” Penn CEO Jay Snowden said on an Aug. 8 earnings call.

BetMGM just launched the first single wallet for mobile play in Nevada, where customers can transport their accounts from Las Vegas back to their home states. Mobile wallets eliminate the friction of multiple transactions.

“Our players can now immerse themselves in the excitement of MGM Resorts’ Las Vegas destinations or statewide while seamlessly continuing to place wagers in other BetMGM markets,” BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said in a statement.