Disney and DirecTV remain at the bargaining table, trying to reach a renewal of their current distribution agreement, which expires Sunday.
While the customary warnings to viewers about a potential blackout, delivered via on-screen crawls, social media messages and so on has not yet begun, they could be activated as soon as Friday night, a person familiar with the talks tells Deadline.
Along with U.S. Open tennis, Disney-owned ESPN is also going to be presenting Week 1 of the college football season Saturday amid robust ratings for the sport in recent years.
Studio show College GameDay and live game telecasts would be a direct route to millions of viewers unaware of the situation.
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