Sports fans nationwide may soon find themselves cut off from some of the most anticipated televised football games of the year as massive media and television companies go to war with one another over the programming fees required to air those matches.

Beginning next week, TV customers on Verizon FiOS and Charter’s Spectrum service could be hit by widespread channel blackouts after the companies’ contracts with major programming giants expire.

Verizon’s 4.5 million TV customers could lose access to ESPN, Freeform and the Disney Channel and other networks belonging to Disney, as well as ABC network-owned stations in Philadelphia and New York, on Dec. 31.

Some 6 million Spectrum viewers could miss out on programming from Tribune Media in as many as two dozen markets across the country starting Jan. 1.

The disputes highlight how rising media consolidation in America, along with the pressures brought by cord-cutting, have turned contract-renewal talks into a high-stakes, winner-take-all affair.

As more content has come under the ownership umbrella of a shrinking handful of powerful firms, companies now undergo bruising, long fights over content pricing and terms.

In November, HBO went offline for Dish Network customers for the first time in the premium channel’s history; the spat remains unresolved.

The contract fight between Verizon and Disney has spilled out into the public this week, with both companies sending out messages to customers notifying them who will be to blame if a new deal isn’t signed by the deadline.

Despite the looming headache for pay-TV subscribers, those with digital antennas can get around a blackout by directly tuning into broadcast networks.