YouTube TV Blackout of ABC, ESPN and Disney Networks in Deal Dispute
Disney’s networks, including ESPN and ABC, are gone on YouTube TV.
YouTube TV removed the Disney networks as much as 30 minutes before the previous carriage agreement expired at the stroke of midnight ET, after the two sides remained far apart over a deal extension to keep ABC, ESPN and more on the Internet TV service. The main sticking point is price: Disney is asking for interest rate increases that Google won’t agree to.
YouTube TV said that if Disney’s channels are unavailable for “an extended period of time,” it will offer subscribers a one-time $20 credit. YouTube TV’s basic subscription costs $82.99 per month. The outages will cause TV users across the country to lose their local ABC channels, as well as ESPN sports programming, including NFL, college football, NBA and NHL games.
Google said YouTube TV would begin removing Disney networks from its service starting at 9 p.m. PT on Oct. 30 and 12 p.m. ET on Oct. 31. However, YouTube TV users on social media said they had already lost Disney programming before the deadline. In addition to deleting the live networks, YouTube TV will also delete any DVR library recordings that users of those networks have made.
Disney began warning viewers about the carriage dispute with YouTube TV on October 23, noting that the pay-TV provider’s networks could be removed. YouTube TV is the largest Internet TV service in the US and is estimated to have more than 10 million subscribers. In second place is Disney, which just struck a deal to merge its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo; together they have almost 6 million subscribers in North America.
“Last week, Disney used the threat of a YouTube TV blackout as a negotiating tactic to enforce deal terms that would increase prices to our customers,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. “They are now acting on this threat and suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers and benefits their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.”
The YouTube representative continued, “We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers and we continue to urge Disney to work constructively with us to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV. If their content remains off YouTube TV for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit.”
According to Disney, YouTube TV wants a better deal than anyone else in the market — including Comcast and Charter, which have more TV customers — and is unwilling to pay market rates for Disney’s networks or agree to terms Disney has reached with other distributors, including its own Hulu + Live TV and Fubo services. In its negotiations with Google, Disney has also proposed new genre-based tiers and packaging flexibility to give YouTube TV customers more choices.
“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deprive their subscribers of the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,” a Disney spokesperson said. “Without a new agreement, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports – anchored by the NFL, NBA and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend.”
The Disney representative continued, “With a market cap of $3 trillion, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undermine the industry standard terms we have negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to pursuing a resolution as quickly as possible.”
Here is the full list of networks pulled from YouTube TV: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, Freeform, FX, FXX, FXM, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, SEC Network, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Localish; on the Spanish plan, ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español and Nat Geo Mundo.
Disney is the latest media conglomerate to partner with Google this year via YouTube TV. Others who have battled the company include Paramount Global (now Paramount Skydance), Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal – each of which reached a new deal without a blackout. However, YouTube TV dropped Univision and other networks owned by TelevisaUnivision in late September after the two sides failed to reach a new agreement.
In 2023, Disney and Charter engaged in a public battle over an extension, before the two sides resolved their differences to avoid a blackout. In 2024, ESPN and other Disney nets went dark on DirecTV for almost two weeks before reaching a new deal. Earlier this month, Disney signed a carriage renewal agreement with Comcast without any drama.
In December 2021, Disney and Google reached a carriage extension after a two-day blackout. YouTube TV first launched in April 2017.
In another stage of the current impasse between Disney and Google, Justin Connolly, Disney’s former head of distribution, joined YouTube this spring as VP Global Head of Media. Disney sued YouTube and Connolly for breach of contract and attempted to block his employment with Google, citing in part Connolly’s knowledge of Disney regarding contract renewal talks for YouTube TV. After Disney lost a legal ruling in the case, the parties recently reached a settlement on the case.
Pictured at top: ABC’s “High Potential” starring Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata
