Craig Carton believes the ongoing carriage dispute between The Walt Disney Company and YouTube TV is less about business negotiations and more about strategy. One that could benefit ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer product. During an episode of The Craig Carton Show, the former WFAN host said the timing and tone of the standoff make him question ESPN’s intentions.
“It’s starting to feel like and smell like a ploy on the ESPN side to force people to buy the ESPN app,” Carton said. “My gut is, this is just greed. This is just ESPN going, ‘We’ll force people to buy the app.’ There’ll be some kind of watershed moment or number that we’ll bring in financially. Then we’ll go back to the table with YouTube, and then at that point, the deal doesn’t matter.”
Carton’s remarks come as the dispute continues to leave YouTube TV subscribers without access to ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned networks. With millions of sports fans relying on the service for college football, Monday Night Football, and NBA coverage. The blackout has sparked frustration among viewers caught in the middle.
For Carton, that frustration is not only understandable — it’s deserved.
“It just stinks, because we all get screwed, right?” he said. “We were the ones that were forced to cut the cord, and YouTube TV came along. It was a godsend for us. You take away ESPN, Disney, ABC — now you’re a dude with kids at home, no Disney. Now you’re a college football fan, no ESPN or ABC. You’re a Monday Night Football dude, you ain’t getting Green Bay–Philly. Like always, we the people get screwed.”
Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and ABC, were pulled from YouTube TV on October 30. After the companies could not reach a new contractual agreement. Disney executives said in a November 7 note to employees that it had made concessions in the negotiations. Including offering YouTube TV a deal “that would cost less overall than the terms of our recently expired license.”
As part of the now two week long stalemate. YouTube TV is offering its subscribers a $20 credit amid its ongoing contract dispute with Disney.
While Carton acknowledged blame exists on both sides, Carton said ESPN bears more responsibility because of its connection to fans and the sports it broadcasts.
“If I was gonna focus a little bit of the blame one way versus the other — yeah, because it’s blame on both sides — a little bit more to ESPN,” he said. “You’ve got to treat your viewers and the fans of the sports that you pay gazillion dollars for with a little bit more respect. You cannot take sports away from us, because there will come a moment when we find it somewhere else and we’re not going to the ESPN app.”
Carton warned that streaming alternatives — legal or otherwise — will fill the gap if fans feel alienated. He said ESPN risks driving viewers toward unofficial sites, further eroding loyalty.
“If you want to stream games, you’ll find a way, and it don’t cost you nothing,” Carton said. “At some point, the fans will not come back and want to see what you offer.”
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