In its third major carriage battle in as many months, YouTube TV customers are at risk of losing ESPN and other Disney-owned channels by Halloween if a new agreement is not reached.
According to a report by Alex Sherman of CNBC, Disney began informing YouTube TV customers on Thursday evening that ESPN and other Disney-owned networks could go dark beginning October 31 if the two sides do not reach a new carriage deal. Prior reports indicated that the current agreement between the two companies expired at the end of October, and it is typical for such disputes to go into the eleventh hour.
Google-owned YouTube TV has found itself in the center of two similarly high-profile carriage battles in recent months. In August, Fox and YouTube TV locked horns over terms of a new agreement before reaching a deal without any major blackouts. Last month, it was NBC and YouTube TV at odds over carriage, with the two sides also avoiding blackouts.
As usual, these disputes are generally fought over pricing (how much YouTube TV will pay for each of Disney’s channels per subscriber) and distribution (which channels will YouTube TV carry, and on what pricing tiers). However, there are some unique factors at play heading down the stretch of this dispute.
For one, ESPN recently launched its new direct-to-consumer app that is available via an authenticated pay TV subscription across several cable providers, such as Charter and Verizon. As of now, YouTube TV customers do not have access to the “Unlimited” tier of ESPN’s new app, which includes exclusive content like WWE premium live events and the full slate of ESPN+ programming. No doubt, YouTube TV will push for its subscribers to receive authentication into ESPN “Unlimited” as part of any new deal, just like Disney has granted other pay TV providers.
Secondly, Disney has stakes in two of YouTube TV’s direct competitors, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. Should Disney content go dark on YouTube TV, Disney could hypothetically attract a portion of those subscribers for its own services. Perhaps this means Disney has a bit more of an appetite for a blackout than others would.
There’s also the ongoing lawsuit that Disney has brought against Google for poaching former executive Justin Connolly, the person in charge of negotiating Disney’s distribution agreements with pay TV providers like YouTube TV. Connolly has reportedly recused himself from these negotiations, but Disney’s lawsuit alleging a breach of contract remains in the background.
Both companies issued statements to CNBC regarding the dispute.
“This is the latest example of Google exploiting its position at the expense of their own customers,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement. “If we don’t reach a fair deal soon, YouTube TV customers will lose access to ESPN and ABC, and all our marquee programming — including the NFL, college football, NBA and NHL seasons — and so much more.”
“We’ve been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content on YouTube TV,” a YouTube TV spokesperson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products – like Hulu + Live TV and, soon, Fubo. Without an agreement, we’ll have to remove Disney’s content from YouTube TV and if it remains unavailable for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit.”
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.