All the years ESPN has spent building trust might just stand on the brink today. Last week, during the Tulane vs. UTSA game, college football fans saw a blackout warning turn into a reality. There would be no Monday night football either, as the carriage dispute stretched beyond the October 30th deadline. For the nation’s largest sports network now, this one’s not a simple crisis to avert.

“ESPN has to be careful here. I grew up on ESPN shows like PTI, Around the Horn, and SportsCenter. An entire generation behind me did not. Those shows are losing influence by the year, while one of them doesn’t even exist anymore. And giving them a reason to realize they don’t need ESPN broadly for their entertainment, other than the occasional game, could backfire dramatically,” Pete Mundo expressed on X.

His concerns aren’t misplaced. While ESPN still continues to be right in the middle of all things sports, owning rights to almost every major league, cracks haven’t remained elusive to the network. While Around the Horn bid goodbye this May after 23 years, its NBA coverage has been deemed the worst among all networks. The polarizing personalities like Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee haven’t been helping their case much either.

But nothing says damage like the standoff between the sports network and YouTube TV.

In a survey conducted by The Athletic, 64% of the people said they blamed ESPN/Disney for the current situation. As suggested by the history of carriage disputes, YouTube TV vs Fox Sports in 2020 for example, the networks have won the PR battles as opposed to the carriers, thanks to the ability to reach out directly to fans. But this one’s been different.

“ESPN’s bad for CFB,” calls echoed on social media over the past week. Not only were the fans denied game days after paying $80 per month subscription fee on YouTube TV, but when ESPN directed them to keepmynetworks.com, some were obliged to buy another product.

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A Disney representative has defended the company’s position, saying, “Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny its subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC.” But the matter has been a little too frustrating for the audience caught in the crossfire.

Notably, ESPN holds the rights to the Tulane vs. Memphis game, which has significant implications for the playoff. The winner is likely to reach the ACC championship and may even remain in the race for a playoff spot. Then, by the weekend, game like BYU vs. Texas Tech, Texas A&M vs. Missouri, or LSU vs. Alabama are also lined up. These are some of the biggest games of the year, and missing them won’t be a good look for the network.

The viewership numbers on ESPN are already seeing a decline with College GameDay recording a whole 500,000 views less than previous week. Things intensified to a point that even ESPN figures like Scott Van Pelt, Mike Greenberg, Kirk Herbstreit, and Laura Rutledge started a campaign on X, urging fans to pressure YouTube TV. But the move backfired as frustration grew among fans. With them now, even Pat McAfee is right there criticizing the entire debacle.

Pat McAfee gets real on ESPN dispute

On a weekend when fans sit together with popcorn to catch the game, the rift between ESPN and YouTube TV disappoints the fans.. They can’t watch big moments like Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline or their favorite teams in action. The situation turned more frustrating when fans missed out on games like the Cardinals vs. Cowboys matchup on Monday night. That’s what pushed McAfee to hop in and address the entire issue on his show.

He straightaway called out his ESPN coworkers who were posting videos online, telling viewers to visit a website to keep access to ESPN channels. “We’re all done with it. And also, if you’re on TV, stop telling people to go to a website to save a multi-billion-dollar deal. Nobody cares what you have to say. There will be nothing that we have to say or any website that will be visited. There are, and I don’t want to say the exact names, but these people (hands up high), let’s put our swords down. Let’s put our swords down for the good of sports,” McAfee said.

Pat McAfee didn’t just stop there; he also criticized both companies for putting fans’ emotions at risk in their fight. He wants unity among everyone and wants everybody to come together. He prioritized not going to the website, echoing the sentiments of every single fan out there. Hopefully, the matters clear soon. Fans predict November 15th to be the last date this stretches to.