ESPN and other channels return to DirecTV with a new Disney deal after a nearly 2-week blackout

DirecTV announced Saturday it had reached a deal with Walt Disney Co. that will restore ESPN and ABC-owned stations to its service after a nearly 2-week dispute that blacked out those networks for millions of viewers across the U.S.

The end of the impasse came in time for sports fans to watch ESPN's slate of college football games on DirecTV. It also will ensure that ABC's telecast of the Emmy Awards on Sunday night will be available in more major markets where viewers subscribe to DirecTV's pay service.

ABC had been unavailable since Sept. 1 on DirecTV in several markets where the station is owned by Disney. Those were located in the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

DirecTV's 11 million subscribers abruptly lost access to ESPN, the ABC-owned stations and other Disney-owned channels such as FX and National Geographic during the Labor Day weekend in a dispute over carriage fees and programming flexibility.

Some viewers were watching the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament when ESPN suddenly went dark and others were getting ready to watch a college football showdown between LSU and Southern California.

The impasse also kept the NFL's opening game of Monday Night Football off of DirecTV's service.

Financial details of Disney's new deal with DirecTV weren't disclosed as part of Saturday's announcement. DirecTV's payments to Disney will be based on “market-based” pricing, according to the announcement about the deal.

The agreement also will give DirecTV the ability to offer Disney's video streaming services a la carte as well as in its own bundled packages. DirecTV won the right to include ESPN's forthcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service at an additional cost to its subscribers once it becomes available.

The deal came a few days after the rising tensions led DirecTV to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith.

This is the second consecutive year Disney's wrangling over the rights to its programming has resulted in its networks gong dark on a pay-TV service. Last year, Disney pulled its channels from Spectrum — the second largest cable-TV provider in the U.S. — for 12 days before settling the dispute just before ESPN was set to show that season's Monday Night Football opener.

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FILE - The ESPN logo is seen, Sept. 16, 2013, prior to an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl, File)

Tupperware Brands, the company that revolutionized food storage decades ago, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company plans to continue operating and will seek court approval for a sale, it said just before midnight on Tuesday.

The company is seeking bankruptcy protection amid growing struggles to revitalize its business. Tupperware sales growth improved during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition. And financial troubles have continued to pile up for the Orlando, Florida, company.

Doubts around Tupperware's future have floated around for some time. Last year, the company sought additional financing as it warned investors about its ability to stay in business and its risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares have fallen 75% this year and closed Tuesday at about 50 cents apiece.

Tupperware experienced explosive growth in the mid 20th century with the rise of Tupperware parties, first held in 1948. Tupperware parties gave many women a chance to run their own businesses out of their homes, selling the products within social circles.

The system worked so well Tupperware removed its products from stores three years later. Social changes, namely fewer dinners made from scratch and more nights spent dining out, took a toll Tupperware sales.

FILE - The logo for Tupperware Brands appears on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE - Colorful Tupperware products are seen in Bellflower, Calif. on Aug. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Garrett Cheen, File)