Disney pulls channels from YouTubeTV, including ABC and ESPN in carriage dispute

All ABC stations lose access to platform

Disney removed its entire channel portfolio from Google’s YouTubeTV early Friday morning after failing to reach a new agreement. This means subscribers no longer have access to ESPN, FX, National Geographic, Disney Channel, and fifteen others. 

The dispute also means ABC and its 200+ affiliates are off the virtual provider as ABC (and CBS and NBC) handles negotiations on their behalf, something station groups that own ABC stations are not happy about. So this means your ABC station is off YouTubeTV, no matter where you live or who owns your station. ABC owns eight stations, mostly in large markets, including ABC 7 Chicago. 

If you have any Disney-related content on YouTubeTV ‘s DVR. In that case, it won’t be accessible until the two parties reach a deal (any Disney content on YouTube, which is not related to YouTubeTV, isn’t affected.)

Disney pulled the signals after 11 p.m. Central Time Thursday.

Naturally, both sides blamed each other.

“We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV,” it wrote on its blog Thursday. 

“Their actions make clear how little regard they have for their customers and are consistent with an attitude which has been prevalent throughout our negotiations — YouTube TV and its owner, Google, are not interested in achieving a fair deal with us,” said Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “Instead, they want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service,” perhaps referring to the two rival virtual providers they own, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo, which Disney now owns 70 percent of, as the Justice Department approved the deal this week. 

Both Google and Disney went through a similar blackout in December 2021, lasting less than 48 hours. However, this situation is different because Disney now owns not one but two rival services and the new app, ESPN Unlimited, where viewers can consume ESPN content, including live channel feeds for $30 a month. 

Google is also demanding Disney offer its programming through its Primetime Channels and “ingest” its content, meaning subscribers would access Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu apps at no extra cost without leaving the YouTubeTV portal. But Disney has rejected that offer outright. 

Earlier, YouTubeTV was in similar disputes with Fox Corporation and NBCUniversal, but each was resolved after last-minute extensions were granted to continue negotiations, preventing any programming interruptions. But this didn’t happen with Disney. 

This comes in the middle of football season, as ESPN carries college football from the SEC, ACC, and Big XII conferences, and Monday Night Football. It also comes as ABC’s Dancing With The Stars is experiencing a ratings resurgence this season. But there is a way around the blackouts if you have an antenna, as ABC simulcasts MNF, and the broadcast network carries top-tier SEC football games. Given the hostility between Google and Disney is more intense than it was four years ago, don’t expect this dispute to be resolved within 48 hours. 

[Disclaimer: The owner of this site and the person who wrote this article is a YouTubeTV subscriber.]