Over 10 million YouTube TV subscribers were cut off from channels like ESPN and ABC late Thursday when negotiations with Disney failed. This is one of the biggest channel blackouts on a streaming service in recent history.
Disney and ESPN channels were scheduled to go dark at 9 p.m. Thursday, meaning viewers would lose access to shows like “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” on ESPN, and “9-1-1: Nashville” and “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC.
For weeks, YouTube TV and Disney have been arguing over how much YouTube TV should pay to carry Disney’s channels, like FX, Disney Junior, and National Geographic. YouTube TV, which is now a leading TV streaming service in the U.S., refused to meet Disney’s price requests, causing the disagreement to continue even after the deadline for a new agreement passed on Thursday.
Because YouTube TV and Disney couldn’t reach an agreement, YouTube TV lost the right to show Disney’s channels.
YouTube acknowledged the situation is upsetting for its customers. In a statement, a spokesperson said they are still asking Disney to collaborate with them to find a reasonable solution and bring Disney’s channels back to YouTube TV.
If the disruption lasts a long time, YouTube will give subscribers a $20 credit.
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DirecTV customers are currently unable to watch ABC and ESPN in almost 11 million households. This disruption is happening at a particularly busy time for sports fans, with major events like college football, the NFL season, and the U.S. Open all underway.
The blackout highlights heightened tensions in the television industry.
TV and streaming companies, like Disney, are asking for higher monthly fees for their channels. This is largely because the cost of showing live sports, especially NFL and NBA games, has gone up significantly.
However, streaming services like YouTube TV are resisting these changes, as customers are getting frustrated with constantly rising monthly costs.
Pay-TV companies are worried about losing customers to competing streaming services or simply having people cancel their subscriptions altogether. In fact, over the past ten years, more than 40 million households have already canceled their traditional TV service, according to industry reports.
Disney is now claiming that Google is using its power to unfairly influence contract talks, joining other TV companies in making similar accusations.
Disney claims YouTube TV isn’t willing to pay a fair price for its channels, or agree to the same terms other TV providers have accepted. This year, Disney has already reached agreements with six other major TV companies, including industry leaders Charter Spectrum and Comcast.
Disney has stated that YouTube TV is blocking its subscribers from watching channels like ESPN and ABC because they wouldn’t agree to fair pricing. This means YouTube TV customers will lose access to Disney’s programs, including major live sports like NFL, NBA, and college football – featuring 13 of the top 25 college teams this weekend. Disney argues that Google, a company worth $3 trillion, is using its size to unfairly compete and disrupt standard industry agreements, having already reached successful deals with other providers.
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Disney is alerting customers just before its deal with YouTube TV ends, coinciding with the start of football and basketball seasons.
Starting in August, Fox Corp., NBCUniversal, and TelevisaUnivision all expressed concerns that YouTube TV was leveraging its growing popularity to unfairly demand concessions from them.
Fox and NBCUniversal successfully reached new distribution agreements with Google, avoiding any interruption in service for their channels.
Univision wasn’t as fortunate; its channels have been off YouTube TV for nearly a month.
YouTube TV claims Disney was actually the one being difficult in negotiations. They point to recent deals they successfully made with NBCUniversal and Fox as evidence.
YouTube TV stated that Disney deliberately threatened to remove its content from their service as a way to get a better deal – one that would have meant higher prices for YouTube TV customers. Now, Disney is making good on that threat. YouTube TV believes this hurts their subscribers and unfairly helps Disney’s own competing live TV services, like Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.
Hulu, owned by Disney, and Fubo are both rivals to YouTube TV, as they provide similar bundles of popular TV channels.
YouTube claims Disney is deliberately blocking access to YouTube TV for some customers to encourage them to switch to Disney’s own streaming services. This comes after Disney lost subscribers when comedian Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily taken off the air last month.
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The host of ABC’s late-night show feared his program might be cancelled. He wouldn’t confirm if he plans to leave the Disney-owned network after this season.
The two companies’ fraught dealings extend beyond the negotiations.
Last spring, Justin Connolly, who used to lead distribution at Disney, unexpectedly left to take a similar job at YouTube TV. After twenty years with Disney and ESPN, where he played a key role in planning how the company distributed its content, Disney tried to prevent his move with a lawsuit. However, a judge ruled in Connolly’s favor, meaning he was allowed to start his new role – now negotiating against Disney.
It’s unclear how long the impasse might last.
Last year, a disagreement over distribution fees caused DirecTV customers to lose access to Disney channels for 13 days. A similar conflict in 2023 led to Disney channels being removed from Charter’s Spectrum service for 10 days.
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The competition between YouTube and traditional movie and TV studios is growing more intense. This week, Disney filed a lawsuit against YouTube after they hired away a key leader from their company.
News and sports fans might quickly notice the absence of their favorite channels.
Viewers might not be able to watch college football games on ESPN and ABC, or the Monday Night Football matchup between the Cardinals and Cowboys.
ABC stations owned by Disney, like KABC-TV in Los Angeles, and other ABC affiliates nationwide will also be removed from YouTube TV.
As a result, people might not be able to watch their local news, popular game shows like “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” morning shows like “Good Morning America,” or late-night programs like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
YouTube TV launched in April 2017 for $35 a month. The package of channels now costs $82.99.
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2025-10-31 06:31