In another high-stakes standoff between media giants, Disney has pulled its entire slate of channels — including ESPN, ABC, FX, and National Geographic — from YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach a new distribution deal before the deadline.
The dispute, which centers on carriage fees and contract terms, leaves millions of YouTube TV subscribers without access to some of the most-watched sports and entertainment programming. It also underscores the growing tension between traditional content owners and digital distributors as streaming economics continue to reshape the media landscape.
“Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV,” the company said in a social media statement.
In a blog post last week, YouTube TV accused Disney of proposing “costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices.” The service, owned by Google, said it had been negotiating for months to keep Disney’s networks available but was unwilling to accept what it described as “unfair” increases.
Disney, meanwhile, fired back in statements to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. Saying Google “is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.” The company did not immediately respond to further media requests for comment on Thursday.
Among the networks now dark on YouTube TV are ABC, ESPN, FX, Freeform, Disney Channel, National Geographic, and the ACC and SEC Networks. Spanish-language feeds including ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español, and Nat Geo Mundo were also removed.
To offset the blackout, YouTube TV said it will offer subscribers a $20 credit if Disney channels remain unavailable “for an extended period of time.” Though it did not specify how long that period might last.
This marks the third time in two months YouTube TV has found itself at an impasse with a major media company. The service narrowly avoided blackouts in separate disputes with both Fox and NBCUniversal earlier this year. With each case ultimately ending in a last-minute deal.
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