Disney and YouTube TV have finally made up after a tense two-week blackout. On Friday, the companies said they had reached a new deal for YouTube TV Disney. This means that channels like ABC and ESPN will be back on the streaming service just in time for the college football games this weekend.
This new YouTube TV Disney deal ends Disney’s longest carriage dispute ever and brings back more than 20 channels to the service’s estimated 9 million subscribers.
Deal reached after a long and expensive standoff
The fight started on October 30, when the old distribution contract ran out. Disney took its channels off of YouTube TV, including ESPN, ABC, FX, and National Geographic. This data indicates that subscribers couldn’t watch big sports events like college football and “Monday Night Football” games.
During the fight, both companies blamed the other. YouTube TV said that Disney was asking for terms that would make prices go up for customers. Disney said that YouTube TV was not paying fair market rates for its valuable content.
The standoff cost both sides a lot of money. Disney was losing about $4.3 million a day, and YouTube TV gave affected subscribers a $20 credit to keep them from canceling.
According to reports, higher-level executives were involved in the breakthrough. Disney CEO Bob Iger and Google CEO Sundar Pichai stepped in to help finalize the new YouTube TV Disney deal.
What Disney and YouTube TV get out of the new deal
The multi-year deal does more than just bring back the channels that were missing. The new YouTube TV Disney deal includes ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service, the ESPN Unlimited plan, which is a big deal.
By the end of 2026, people who subscribe to the basic plan on YouTube TV will be able to use this service for free. The partnership also paves the way for YouTube TV to offer the Disney+ and Hulu bundle in the future, as well as include Disney networks in channel packages tailored to specific genres.
This deal gives YouTube TV subscribers more value and flexibility, which was one of the main goals of the platform during the talks. The deal shows that Disney’s sports and entertainment programming is still valuable in today’s streaming world.
Subscribers can once again watch their favorite shows and games on YouTube TV thanks to this new deal with Disney. They can also access DVR recordings that they had lost before.
