With football season fast approaching, there’s a decent chance you’ll want to watch more than one game at a time.

But this isn’t as easy as it used to be, back when picture-in-picture was a standard TV feature. In 2024, your ability to watch two or more games side-by-side will depend on which streaming services you have and the streaming devices you use to watch.

Over at TechHive, I’ve walked through all the potential options. Read the full column →

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Weekly rewind

DirecTV-Disney dispute: ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels could go dark on DirecTV and DirecTV Stream this weekend as the companies haggle over carriage terms. DirecTV says it’s tired of making customers pay more for the same bloated bundle of channels, and is pushing for more cheaper and more flexible packages. Disney says it’s being scapegoated when real problem is that DirecTV’s product isn’t “slick and dynamic” enough.

That said, Bloomberg reports that Disney is “open” to the idea of a skinnier, sports-centric package—you know, like the one Disney wanted to offer exclusively through its Venu Sports joint venture with Fox and Warner—but it’s unclear what shape that might take. We’ve seen TV providers talk tough with Disney before, only to wind up with more or less the same bundles at higher-than-ever prices. Maybe the federal court’s injunction of Venu Sports will lead to a different outcome this time.

Regional sports unbundle watch: We’ve got a couple new developments on the regional sports streaming scene this week.

First, there’s Gotham Sports, which will stream live Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Sabres and Yankees games in the New York area this fall. It will cost $42 per month or $360 per year and is essentially a bundle of Watch YES Network and MSG+. YES and MSG plan to retire their individual apps, but Gotham’s app will still offer each network on a standalone basis, at $25 per month or $240 per year for YES, and $30 per month or $280 per year for MSG. (You’ll also be able to log in with a pay TV subscription to watch at no extra charge.)

On the opposite coast, the Anaheim Ducks are unbundling from Bally Sports and will stream all of their regional games for free on a new service called Victory+ this coming season. The local Fox station will carry the games as well, making them free with antenna. The Dallas Stars announced a similar arrangement with Victory+ last month.

Disney shuttering its cable apps: On September 23, Disney will shut down several of its individual channel apps, including ABC, DisneyNow, FXNow, Freeform, and Nat Geo TV. Under an industry initiative called “TV Everywhere,” these apps allowed you to sign in with a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming subscription to watch on-demand episodes and live channel feeds on phones, tablets, and streaming devices.

Disney isn’t alone in winding down its individual channel apps. Paramount did the same for the Comedy Central app, MTV app, and others last December, and the Fox Now app shut down in July of last year. In most cases you can still sign into these channels’ websites—ABC.com will still carry full episodes after September 23, for instance—but I imagine the audience for these apps is dwindling as more folks cancel pay TV, and as cable companies get better at offering apps of their own.

More catch-up

• Still clinging to TiVo? Comcast will no longer replace your CableCARD if it breaks.
• Diamond has new deals with the NHL and NBA that will keep lots of teams on Bally Sports.
• But Amazon may not invest in Diamond as originally planned.
• Another but: ESPN may jockey for some regional sports rights itself.
• Remember the rumor that Amazon would kill the “Freevee” brand? It’s looking more likely now.

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Save more money

Fubo is finally joining the fun on football season streaming deals, taking $30 off the first month for new and returning subscribers. That brings the base price to $62 for a month once you factor in Fubo’s regional sports fees. Relevant to this week’s TechHive column, it supports fully-customizable multiview on Apple TV boxes.

Competing offers remain available from YouTube TV ($65 per month for the first four months), DirecTV Stream ($30 to $40 off for the first three months), and Sling TV (half-off the first month, or $199 for a four-month “Season Pass” with Sling Orange, Blue, and Sports Extra). Your move, Hulu.

Other notable deals:

• See more up-to-date deals on the Cord Cutter Weekly website.
• The latest Paramount+ code is still OGGMPZR3YBW for a free month. Or, get half-off a year via this link.
• Via Reddit: Try cancelling Peacock, you may get $2 per month for your next six months.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy the long weekend, folks! Got cord cutting questions for me? Reply to this email to get in touch.

Until next week,
Jared