Embodiments are provided for automatically identifying reduced availability of multi-channel media distributors for authentication or authorization. For example, an entitlement service communicates with a multi-channel media distributor to authenticate viewers requesting content from programmers or to confirm that authenticated viewers are authorized to receive content from the programmers. The entitlement service receives requests for various programmers to provide media content to user devices, and transmits the requests to the multi-channel media distributor. The entitlement service determines a reduced availability of the multi-channel media distributor based on, for example, an unusually low success rate for authenticating users or authorizing the users' access to content access based on the transmitted requests. Due to this reduced availability of the multi-channel media distributor, the entitlement service provides the requesting user devices with temporary access to the media content from the programmers during a period in which the reduced availability occurs.