Disney is going dark on YouTube TV.
Channels owned by The Walt Disney Co., including ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Freeform and others will be pulled from the Google-owned pay-TV service at midnight ET after the two sides failed to come to terms on a new carriage agreement ahead of a midnight deadline.
With ESPN and ABC pulled, YouTube TV subscribers may need to seek alternatives for their college football, NFL, or NBA fix. YouTube TV says that if Disney’s channels remain off the platform for an extended period, they will give customers a $20 monthly credit.
“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,” a Disney spokesperson said. “Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports — anchored by the NFL, NBA, and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend. 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.”
“Last week Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers,” a YouTube TV spokesperson said. “They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.”
The companies had warned consumers about the potential blackout a week ago.
A Disney source said that YouTube TV was “looking for a better deal than anyone else in the market,” seeking deals akin to what market leaders Charter and Comcast are getting. YouTube countered that Disney wouldn’t agree to those rates even if it was tied to if or when YouTube TV passed the cable companies to become the largest plater in pay-TV.
Disney and YouTube are also said to have discussed genre packages and other packaging options that could ultimately create more flexible packages for consumers.
Disney, as it happens, has become a significant player in the space as well. This week it closed the deal to merge Hulu with Live TV and Fubo, creating a streaming pay-TV service with about six million subscribers. Disney owns 70 percent of the company, though it is being led by Fubo chief David Gandler.
Disney is the second notable media company to see its channels go dark on YouTube TV in recent months, after TelevisaUnivision’s channels were pulled at the end of September. The platform also had public carriage disputes with Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal, though both of those were resolved without any channels going dark.
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