Disney+ Ad Break Cuts Away From Arsenal Women's Champions League Match
The short version
- An unplanned ad break cut off Arsenal vs HB Koge coverage for about three minutes late in the second half.
- Arsenal won 1-0 on a Mariona Caldentey penalty in the 93rd minute; no goals were missed during the outage.
- Disney+ said the break stemmed from a technical issue and that live events may include ads.
- Disney+ holds a five-year exclusive European rights deal for the Women's Champions League, with ESPN producing matches.
A technical fault triggered an unexpected commercial break that left viewers without match footage for roughly three minutes during Arsenal's win over HB Koge.
Disney+ came in for criticism after its live coverage of a Women's Champions League match between Arsenal and Danish side HB Koge was interrupted by an unexpected commercial break. With roughly 15 minutes left in the second half, some viewers saw a run of adverts while other screens displayed a "commercial break in progress" message.
The outage lasted around three minutes before the feed returned. Commentary carried on as though nothing had been amiss. No goals or major incidents occurred during the gap, and Arsenal went on to win 1-0 on a 93rd-minute penalty from Mariona Caldentey.
The break was reportedly the result of a technical fault rather than a scheduled pause. Responding to a complaint on X, the Disney+ Help account noted that its Standard and Premium plans are commercial-free but may include limited promotional content, and that live and special events can carry ads.
Disney+ holds an exclusive five-year deal, which began last year, to show the Women's Champions League in Europe, with matches produced by ESPN. Its coverage this season has also drawn criticism for a new studio show, The Hangout, which aired from Amsterdam on opening night and suffered multiple technical problems while offering little football analysis, according to critics.
