Disney the latest to come into YouTubeTV’s crosshairs
Threatens to pull ABC and ESPN channels a week from now
As hinted at for the last few weeks, Google’s YouTubeTV and The Walt Disney Company are involved in a standoff over a new deal, with Disney warning customers they may lose their channels on October 30 at 11 p.m. CT if an agreement isn’t reached.
Disney owns ESPN, Disney Channel, National Geographic, Freeform, and ABC. All could vanish by Thursday night.
Also impacted are ABC’s 200+ affiliates, including ABC 7 Chicago, as the network negotiates deals on behalf of all its stations. As YouTube TV is a virtual provider rather than a cable or satellite distributor, broadcasters are increasingly unsatisfied with this arrangement.
“For the fourth time in three months, Google’s YouTube TV is putting their subscribers at risk of losing the most valuable networks they signed up for,” Disney said in a statement. “This is the latest example of Google exploiting its position at the expense of their own customers. We invest significantly in our content and expect our partners to pay fair rates that recognize that value. If we don’t reach a fair deal soon, YouTube TV customers will lose access to ESPN and ABC, and all our marquee programming – including the NFL, college football, NBA and NHL seasons – and so much more.”
“We’ve been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content on YouTube TV,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products – like Hulu + Live TV and, soon, Fubo.”
Disney owns the competing streaming service Hulu + Live TV and is acquiring another competitor, Fubo.
Disney’s contract with YouTubeTV expires this month, as hinted by observers after the virtual provider went through a similar impasse with Fox Corporation and NBCUniversal earlier this year, which were resolved. Another impasse with Spanish-language broadcaster TelevisaUnivision remains, as channels owned by the conglomerate were pulled several weeks ago.
The current agreement with Disney dates back to December 2021, following a previous expiring deal that led to the removal of channels from YouTubeTV for two days before they were restored. The signal was abruptly yanked at 11 p.m. CT on December 17, 2021, in the fourth quarter of a Lakers-Timberwolves game on ESPN. DVR recordings of any Disney content were also inaccessible.
There are major differences between this impasse and the last one four years ago. YouTube TV is encouraging customers to access ESPN+ from their portal, the new app the sports network launched last summer, which Charter and Verizon Fios customers already have. Unlimited is now the exclusive home to all WWE premium content (such as Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, etc.) in the United States.
YouTube TV customers will receive a $20 credit if Disney removes their channels. In 2021, the YouTubeTV base price was $64.99 per month. Today, it’s $82.99 per month.