A major carriage dispute has led Disney to pull its programming — including ESPN, ABC, FX, and other networks — from YouTube TV after both companies failed to reach an agreement on new contract terms before the October 30 deadline.
“Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV,” YouTube TV said in a social media post late Wednesday night.
The removal affects millions of subscribers who rely on YouTube TV for live sports, entertainment, and local news.
Negotiations Break Down Over Pricing
The dispute centers on financial terms between the two media companies. In an earlier statement published on October 23, YouTube TV accused Disney of proposing “costly economic terms that would raise prices” for its customers while reducing flexibility and content choice.
Which sounds exactly like what other carriers have said during carriage disputes with Disney.
Disney, meanwhile, pushed back on that narrative. In a statement to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, the company accused Google, YouTube’s parent company, of “using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”
They have, but not before they were accused of overcharging and limiting choice. Resolution with companies like Charter Spectrum ended with Disney getting a bunch more Disney+ ad-supported customers.
However, YouTube has been posturing lately as they control the largest amount of television watched in the United States. They have also announced plans to go more Hollywood (which could screw over their content creators who build the platform.)
Both companies were required to reach a renewed agreement by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 30, according to a statement provided to USA Today.
Here is a List of Affected Disney Networks
The following channels are no longer available on YouTube TV, according to USA Today:
- ABC
- ABC News Live
- ACC Network
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPNU
- ESPNews
- Freeform
- FX, FXX, FXM
- Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild
- Localish
- SEC Network
- ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español, Nat Geo Mundo (Spanish plan)
Disney is likely counting on the loss of ESPN and ABC Sports to leverage consumer demand for Fall sports.
YouTube TV Offers Credit to Subscribers
In response to the blackout, YouTube TV announced it will offer a $20 credit to subscribers if Disney channels remain unavailable for an “extended period.” The company has not specified how long the disruption must last before credits are applied.
This marks the third contract dispute for YouTube TV in just two months. In August, the platform narrowly avoided blackouts after tense negotiations with Fox and NBCUniversal, both of which accused Google of refusing to agree to standard distribution rates.
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