Posted in: ABC, TV, YouTube | Tagged: disney, youtube

YouTube, Disney Leave ABC, ESPN & Other Channel Viewers in The Dark

After YouTube and Disney failed to reached a new deal, ABC, ESPN, and a number of other networks went MIA for YouTube TV subscribers.

At 11:15 pm ET on Thursday night, YouTube and The Walt Disney Company made a whole lot of television viewers very, very unhappy. Forty-five minutes before their carriage deal was set to expire, ABC, ESPN, and several other Disney networks went dark for 10 million YouTube TV subscribers. To be clear, carriage disputes are nothing new; in fact, we've seen several of them this year alone, including those between YouTube and NBCUniversal, Paramount, and Fox Corp. However, the back-and-forth between YouTube and Disney during this round has been suggesting that both sides are digging in for a fight.

Along with the networks being pulled ahead of the deadline, Disney actively campaigned on television and social media, urging viewers to petition YouTube to make a deal, enlisting some prominent names from its scripted drama, sports, and reality show lineups. For its part, YouTube pretty much "disappeared" the networks instead of leaving placeholders or any graphic explaining the situation. In an email statement to subscribers, YouTube announced that if Disney networks are "unavailable for an extended period of time, we'll offer our subscribers a $20 credit." Still, this is not good news for viewers (especially sports fans), who are left to find alternative viewing options.

Regarding the reasons behind the break, two issues are being highlighted. First, YouTube is reportedly looking to become more of a major player in the pay-TV universe through efforts to "ingest" programming from streaming services into its main upfront interface. For the studios, that's an extra step/"middle man" request that works against their desire to reach consumers directly. Of course, there's also the matter of how much YouTube TV should pay to carry the networks – a contentious issue made even more so as linear television viewing continues to deteriorate. Here's a look at two recent statements from Disney and YouTube:

What Disney Had to Say to Deadline Hollywood: "Unfortunately, Google's YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we've successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible."

What YouTube Had to Say to Subscribers via Email: "In order to deliver a wide variety of sports, news, and entertainment programming on YouTube TV, we enter into agreements with network partners. Each time we renew our contracts with these partners, we advocate for fair pricing and greater flexibility to offer our subscribers the best possible live TV experience. Our current agreement with Disney has approached its renewal date, and we will not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney's own live TV products. Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, October 30, 2025, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV. This means you will no longer be able to watch channels like ABC and ESPN or access recordings from these networks in your Library.

The move comes at the end of a week that saw two other Disney/YouTube matters coming to a head. Disney finalized acquiring 70% of Fubo, creating a Hulu Live/Fubo combo with approximately 6 million subscribers in North America (and a rival for YouTube TV). In addition, Disney and YouTube settled a lawsuit brought by Disney over YouTube's hiring of Justin Connolly, a former Disney & ESPN distribution executive, despite a judge ruling in YouTube's favor that the hiring didn't meet the threshold to be considered "poaching."

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