After reports emerged on Thursday that former ESPN executive Justin Connolly is headed to YouTube to serve as the global head of sports and media for the mega-platform, it looks like his departure caused some sour grapes at the Worldwide Leader.
According to a report by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, ESPN parent company Disney is suing YouTube for poaching Connolly from Bristol. Per Shaw, “Disney filed suit against YouTube in state court in Los Angeles to stop the appointment, claiming breach of contract, interference in a contractual relationship and unfair competition. In the complaint, Disney said Connolly signed a new three-year contract in November 2024 that included a one-time right to terminate in March 2027. The company is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions.”
Per a report by Puck’s John Ourand earlier this week, Disney was “surprised by Connolly’s abrupt decision to exit since he re-upped a multi-year, fixed-term contract earlier this year, and Disney has not agreed to release him—to YouTube TV or anywhere else.” Connolly was also reportedly a “finalist” to replace former ESPN head John Skipper in 2018, according to Ourand.
Recently signing a multi-year contract with ESPN and catching the network off guard seemingly serves as the reason for the lawsuit. The ESPN veteran spent 25 years with Disney and ESPN and was present for the network’s launch of its direct-to-consumer product last week.
Part of the lawsuit could also center around Disney’s upcoming renegotiation with YouTube TV this fall. Again, per Ourand, Disney’s distribution deal with YouTube TV expires this fall. Connolly “cut his teeth” negotiating distribution deals for ESPN, and likely has inside knowledge about Disney’s plans entering the company’s upcoming talks with YouTube. That, of course, could put Disney at a strategic disadvantage in the negotiations. Whether that insider knowledge could pose legal ramifications for YouTube is unclear, though it certainly looks like Disney will use that line of thinking in its suit.
Per Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal, Disney became aware of Connolly’s YouTube offer last month and believe his insider knowledge “would be extremely prejudicial.”
“In April 2025, Disney became aware of YouTube’s offer of employment to Connolly,” the lawsuit reads, per Flint. “This news came at a critical time in Connolly’s tenure as President of Platform Distribution for Disney. Disney is in the midst of several important product launches and renegotiation of some of its largest distribution deals, and Connolly has been the architect of Disney’s distribution strategy and its principal negotiator. Critically, Connolly leads the Disney team negotiating a license renewal with YouTube. Connolly has intimate knowledge of Disney’s other distribution deals, the financial details concerning Disney’s content being licensed to YouTube, and Disney’s negotiation strategies, both in general and in particular with respect to YouTube. It would be extremely prejudicial to Disney for Connolly to breach the contract which he negotiated just a few months ago and switch teams when Disney is working on a new licensing deal with the company that is trying to poach him.”