In the USA, a new tradition has emerged on Labor Day: a heated contract dispute between Disney and another heavyweight in the television industry, with both parties trying to thrive in the evolving entertainment landscape.

Disney and the satellite provider DirecTV were unable to agree on a contract renewal last weekend, resulting in DirecTV customers missing the start of the college football season as well as key matches of the US Open in tennis. Currently, both sides are accusing each other of being unreasonable and thus harming American consumers.

These "carriage" disputes have now become common. Just a year ago, Disney entered a similar conflict with John Malone's Charter Communications. Since then, the decline of linear television has further accelerated. Adding to Disney's challenges, a recent court ruling may limit its usual negotiating power as a valuable content provider.

DirecTV was acquired by AT&T in 2015 for a total value of $67 billion and was sold to the private equity group TPG three years ago for a company value of only $16 billion. Satellite TV has been losing subscribers for years and, unlike cable providers, DirecTV does not have a broadband business to offset the changes in video consumption.

With a shrinking television audience, Disney has to charge the highest possible fees for each remaining traditional pay-TV subscriber. Its flagship ESPN, for example, charges the highest affiliate fee at about $9 per subscriber. In the most recent quarter, revenues from affiliate fees fell by 2 percent, while the number of subscribers dropped by 8 percent, even though the fees charged increased by 6 percent.

The latest dispute between DirecTV and Disney is taking on an even more existential dimension. After a federal court halted a sports streaming joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery, the judge declared the practice of requiring distributors to accept and pay for multiple channels as a package likely illegal. As a result, DirecTV has informed Disney that it does not want to pay for everything offered alongside ESPN, but only for the value it attributes to ESPN alone.

The urgency of this conflict is further heightened by the upcoming start of the National Football League, whose games are broadcast on ESPN and which begins next week. Last year, this pressure led to a compromise just before the start of Monday Night Football. However, this year a swift agreement is more uncertain than ever.