Disney and YouTube TV have reached a new carriage deal, ending a two-week programming blackout of ESPN, ABC and more of its channels on the Google-owned platform.
The new agreement includes carriage of all of ESPN’s networks, ABC, Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and National Geographic channels. It will also make ESPN Unlimited available to YouTube TV base plan subscribers at no additional cost by the end of 2026, and provides access to a selection of live and on-demand programming.
The deal also preserves optionality for the distributor for future programming packages with Disney, along with other content partners. That includes select networks in various genre-specific packages and the ability to include the Disney+-Hulu bundle as part of select YouTube offerings.
“This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering
exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to
watch,’’ Disney Entertainment co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana
Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. 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.”
“Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library,” a YouTube spokesperson added. “We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf. “
YouTube TV pulled the media giant’s networks from its platform on Oct. 30 after the two sides failed to reach a deal prior to their previous contract’s expiration.
Disney previously said it offered YouTube TV a deal that would cost less overall than the terms of its previous contract, with “fair” terms that are “in-line with the more than 500 other distributors that have renewed their agreements since last summer, including the top distributors, who are far larger than YouTube TV.”
Additionally, the company said it offered programming packages tailored to sports fans, entertainment fans, kids and families to offer more flexibility and value. At the time, Disney accused YouTube TV of continuing to “insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market”and making “few concessions.”
Meanwhile, YouTube TV said that Disney was asking them for a rate above what Charter and DirecTV pay for the ABC networks and to pay more for their content than what they charge the Hulu and Fubo, which recently completed its merger with Hulu + Live TV.
It also said it was asking for size-based “most favored nations,” a contractual promise that a programmer will not offer better terms to any other distributor without offering the same terms to them, and disputed that the tailored programming packages were Disney’s proposal, noting that it’s a topic they’ve had conversations with all of their partners about.
Morgan Stanley estimated that Disney was losing $30 million in revenue per week, or $4.3 million each day, during the blackout. Those figures were based on the bank’s estimate that it could lose $60 million in revenue from the programming blackout if the carriage dispute lasted for 14 days.
It’s unclear how much revenue and subscribers YouTube TV lost from the blackout, though the platform offered their subscribers a $20 credit to limit the amount of cancellations. The rebate was not applied automatically and was not available to individuals who canceled or paused their subscriptions.
A recent survey of 1,107 consumer by Drive Research found that nearly 1 in 4 YouTube TV subscribers had already canceled or were considering canceling the service because it “no longer delivers the core content they signed up for.” A YouTube TV spokesperson previously told TheWrap that “while subscriber churn is always regrettable, it’s been manageable and does not align with the findings of this survey.”
The latest carriage dispute resolution comes after Disney resolved a 13-day programming blackout with DirecTV in September 2024, a 10-day dispute with Charter Communications in 2023 and a 48-hour dispute with Dish in 2022, while YouTube TV recently reached agreements with Fox and NBCUniversal.
Despite the deal with Disney, YouTube TV has yet to reach a new carriage deal with TelevisaUnivision, whose programming has been dark on the platform since Sept. 30. President Donald Trump weighed in on the latter dispute, urging YouTube TV to restore the Spanish-language network’s programming.
With over 8 million subscribers, YouTube TV is one of the largest pay TV operators alongside Charter Communications, Comcast and DirecTV. It is the largest virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD).
