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After failing to reach a deal with Disney on Thursday, Oct. 30, YouTube TV removed ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC from its streaming service, causing almost 10 million YouTube TV subscribers to miss many of the biggest college football games of Week 10 this past weekend.
The dispute between the entertainment giants stems from the "carriage fee" that Google pays Disney in order to broadcast its channels on YouTube TV. Disney has run into similar negotiating standoffs with other broadcasters in the past, including Spectrum/Charter cable in 2023 and DirecTV in 2024.
Unless negotiations resolve the conflict very soon, millions of NFL fans won't be able to watch tonight's Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals. Disney has asked YouTube TV to restore the ABC channel for tomorrow's US election coverage, but it's unclear whether the streaming service will agree.
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Disney says YouTube TV is not paying enough to stream its channels. YouTube TV, owned by Google, has the most subscribers of all other internet TV providers, more than 9 million. Hulu, owned by Disney, is second with 4.3 million subscribers through its Hulu + Live TV offering.
Which Disney channels were removed from YouTube TV?
Football fans aren't the only viewers left sidelined by the loss of Disney channels from YouTube TV. Here are all the channels that were pulled:
- ABC
- ABC News Live
- ACC Network
- Baby TV Español (Spanish Plan)
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- ESPN
- ESPN Deportes (Spanish Plan)
- ESPNews
- ESPNU
- ESPN2
- Freeform
- FX
- FXM
- FXX
- Localish
- Nat Geo
- Nat Geo Mundo (Spanish Plan)
- Nat Geo Wild
- SEC Network
When could Disney channels be restored to YouTube TV?
As with previous Disney disputes, negotiations are under wraps though both companies are sniping at each other on social networks and the web.
YouTube TV posted on X, "Members, when we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing to offer you the best TV experience." The service also said it would offer subscribers a $20 credit "if their content is unavailable for an extended period of time." You can find updates on the dispute on this YouTube TV page.
"Google's YouTube TV has chosen to deny its subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC," Disney said in a statement to CNBC.
In a memo to employees on Friday that was also reported by CNBC, Disney accused YouTube TV of deleting "previously recorded shows and events from their subscribers' libraries."
"YouTube TV and its owner, Google, are not interested in achieving a fair deal with us," Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in the memo. "Instead, they want to use their power and extraordinary resources to eliminate competition and devalue the very content that helped them build their service."
Disney is also asking its viewers to ask YouTube TV to bring back its broadcasting via the keepmynetworks.com site.
How can YouTube TV subscribers watch Monday Night Football during the Disney outage?
YouTube TV subscribers who have an aerial TV antenna can still watch tonight's Monday Night Football game if they live close enough to receive an over-the-air broadcast signal from a local ABC affiliate.
Other than that, the only real option is for viewers to watch MNF at home is to subscribe to another service that provides ABC and ESPN, including ESPN+, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, or DirectTV Stream. For those venturing out to watch tonight's game at a local establishment, this handy app can help you find out where the game is showing.
