Topline
Disney-owned channels went dark on YouTube TV overnight. (Photo by Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
Disney-owned channels went dark on YouTube TV around midnight Eastern time Friday as the companies’ current contract ran out, leaving YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers without access to ABC, ESPN, FX and more channels.
The two companies have reportedly clashed over pricing: Disney has accused YouTube of “refusing to pay fair rates for our channels,” but YouTube has said Disney is pushing for “deal terms that would raise prices on our customers,” Deadline reported.
In a statement to Deadline, a Disney spokesperson accused YouTube’s parent company Google of choosing to “deny their subscribers the content they value most” and “using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”
It’s unclear how long the blackout will last, though YouTube TV has said it will offer customers a $20 credit if Disney-owned channels remain unavailable for an “extended period of time.”
Forbes has reached out to Disney and YouTube TV for comment.
Which Channels Are Affected By The Youtube Tv-Disney Blackout?
Disney-owned channels now unavailable to stream on YouTube TV include sports networks ESPN and ESPN2, major television network ABC, and plenty of others, including the Disney Channel, FX, Freeform, National Geographic and Spanish-language channels including ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español and Nat Geo Mundo.
Which Major Television Programs Might Be Impacted?
The blackout could obstruct access to major sporting events, including college football matches scheduled to air on ESPN. Two top-ranked teams, the Texas Longhorns and Vanderbilt Commodores, are set to face off Saturday afternoon in a game airing on ABC, while the Notre Dame-Boston College and Southern Methodist University-University of Miami games are set for Saturday afternoon on ESPN. Other broadcasts set for ABC that could be impacted include late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and other primetime programming scheduled for next week, like “Dancing with the Stars,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Golden Bachelor,” “Shark Tank” and “9-1-1.” Many ABC programs are made available to stream on Disney-owned streaming services Disney+ and Hulu.
Key Background
Disney is not the only company to face a contract dispute with YouTube TV in recent months, though some other recent disputes were resolved ahead of a blackout. NBCUniversal-owned channels nearly departed YouTube TV as its contract with the streaming service ran out at the end of September, but the companies inked a short-term agreement to keep NBC channels running while they ironed out terms for a long-term deal, which was reached days later. The dispute similarly concerned pricing, as Google accused NBCUniversal of “asking us to pay more than what they charge consumers for the same content on Peacock, which would mean less flexibility and higher prices for our subscribers.” Paramount channels nearly went dark on YouTube TV in February as the companies disagreed over pricing, with YouTube TV saying it sought a “fair agreement” reached “without passing on additional costs to our subscribers.” The companies reached a temporary agreement to avoid a blackout and secured a deal days later.
Further Reading
Disney Warns That YouTube TV Could Drop ABC, ESPN and More Networks in Fee Dispute (Variety)
NBCU, Google Ink Long-Term Carriage Deal for YouTube TV, Which Will Add Relaunched NBC Sports Network This Fall (Variety)