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Tag: channels

  • Disney channels are back on YouTube TV

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    Google and Disney have finally reached an agreement, a couple of weeks after YouTube TV lost access to Disney channels that include ESPN, FX and ABC stations. In a statement, Google said the deal “preserves the value of [its] service for [its] subscribers and future flexibility in [its] offers.” Subscribers will be able to start watching Disney channels as they return over the course of the day, as well as access any content in their library. “We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf,” YouTube wrote.

    The new deal “recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice,” Disney Entertainment co-chairpersons Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, as well as ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football,” they added.

    Disney pulled its channels from YouTube’s subscription service on October 31 after the companies failed to reach a deal for the renewal of their partnership. Google said at the time that Disney “used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on [its] customers.” Meanwhile, Disney accused Google of “refusing to pay fair rates for [its] channels” and using its dominance in the market to “eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms” that its other partners had agreed to.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube TV subscribers will get access to select live and library programming from ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost under the terms of the new agreement. Google will also be able to offer Disney+ and Hulu bundles to YouTube TV customers and will be able to offer genre-based channel packages. Google has sent out emails to YouTube TV subscribers, notifying them about the return of Disney channels. It also clarified that they will still be able to claim the $20 credit, which the company gave out to make up for the missing channels, until December 9.

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  • YouTube TV loses ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels

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    Disney’s channels have gone dark on YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach an agreement by their October 30 deadline. The affected channels include ESPN, local ABC stations, ABC News, FX, NatGeo, Disney Channel and Freeform. “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,” YouTube said in an announcement on its blog. “They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV.” YouTube added that Disney’s decision harms its subscribers while benefiting its own live TV products, such as Hulu+Live TV and Fubo.

    In a statement sent to the Los Angeles Times, however, Disney accused Google’s YouTube TV of choosing to deny “subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for [its] channels, including ESPN and ABC.” Disney also accused Google of using its market dominance to “eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms” that other pay-TV distributors have agreed to pay for its content. YouTube TV lost access to Disney channels back in 2021, but they were immediately able to strike a deal that restored the channels the very next day. The companies are most likely still trying to negotiate at the moment, but Google says it will offer subscribers a $20 credit if Disney channels remain offline for an extended period of time.

    Google has had to make several similar announcements over the past year. In February, YouTube TV almost lost Paramount content, including CBS, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon, before reaching a last-minute deal. The same thing happened in August with Fox. More recently, Google and NBCUniversal also came to an agreement at the eleventh hour, though YouTube TV lost access to Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US.

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    Mariella Moon

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