A contract dispute between Disney and YouTube TV has resulted in the removal of ESPN, ABC, FX and all other Disney-owned channels from the streaming service, with little indication that the standoff will be resolved soon.
The disagreement stems from the “carriage fee” that Google pays Disney in order to broadcast its channels on YouTube TV. Disney has run into similar negotiating standoffs with other broadcasters in the past, including Spectrum/Charter cable in 2023 and DirecTV in 2024.
Disney asked YouTube TV to restore its ABC channel for today’s US election coverage, but YouTube TV rejected that request on Monday. In a blog post, YouTube said that offering one channel for only 24 hours would “cause customer confusion among those who may briefly see ABC on YouTube TV only to lose it again shortly after.”
YouTube went a bit further in its rejection post, noting that viewers have many options for following election news on YouTube TV, and commenting, “on the last two U.S. election days, the vast majority of tuned-in YouTube TV subscribers chose not to watch ABC.” Ouch.
Instead, YouTube TV proposed “immediately restoring the Disney channels that our customers watch: ABC and the ESPN networks, while we continue to negotiate.”
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Disney says YouTube TV is not paying enough to stream its channels. YouTube TV, owned by Google, has the most subscribers of all other internet TV providers, more than 9 million. Hulu, owned by Disney, is second with 4.3 million subscribers through its Hulu + Live TV offering.
Which Disney channels were removed from YouTube TV?
Football fans aren’t the only viewers left sidelined by the loss of Disney channels from YouTube TV. Here are all the channels that have been removed from the streaming service:
- ABC
- ABC News Live
- ACC Network
- Baby TV Español (Spanish Plan)
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- ESPN
- ESPN Deportes (Spanish Plan)
- ESPNews
- ESPNU
- ESPN2
- Freeform
- FX
- FXM
- FXX
- Localish
- Nat Geo
- Nat Geo Mundo (Spanish Plan)
- Nat Geo Wild
- SEC Network
When could Disney channels be restored to YouTube TV?
As with previous Disney disputes, negotiations are under wraps though both companies are sniping at each other on social networks and the web. Judging by Disney’s contract conflicts from previous years — Sling TV in 2022, Spectrum/Charter in 2023 and DirecTV in 2024 — the outage may last only a few more days, but Google has considerably more bargaining power than those other platforms.
On Thursday, Oct. 30, YouTube TV posted on X, “Members, when we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing to offer you the best TV experience.” The service also said it would offer subscribers a $20 credit “if their content is unavailable for an extended period of time.” You can find updates on the dispute on this YouTube TV page.
“Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny its subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,” Disney said in a statement to CNBC.
In a memo to employees on Friday that was also reported by CNBC, Disney accused YouTube TV of deleting “previously recorded shows and events from their subscribers’ libraries.”
“YouTube TV and its owner, Google, are not interested in achieving a fair deal with us,” Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in the memo. “Instead, they want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service.”
Disney is also asking its viewers to ask YouTube TV to bring back its broadcasting via the keepmynetworks.com site.
How can YouTube TV subscribers watch football games during the Disney outage?
YouTube TV subscribers with an aerial TV antenna can still watch Monday Night Football and college football games on ABC if they live close enough to receive an over-the-air broadcast signal from a local ABC affiliate.
Other than that, the only real option is for viewers to watch MNF at home is to subscribe to another service that provides ABC and ESPN, including ESPN+, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, or DirectTV Stream. Sling TV offers both a $5 Day Pass that could be a good option for viewers who want to watch one specific game, or a $10 Weekend Pass that would give you college football games on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday.
For those looking to find football games at local establishments, this handy app can help you find places that are showing the games.
