ABC, Disney and YouTube
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YouTube TV is reportedly offering some subscribers a $10 monthly credit for six months as compensation for the loss of Disney channels.
“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,” a Disney spokesperson told Variety Magazine in a report on Oct. 30.
Disney offered YouTube TV a revised agreement that included complimentary access to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, but it required leaving YouTube TV, an arrangement Google found unacceptable (via YouTube’s blog post).
Disney’s channels will be removed from YouTube’s pay-TV platform after the two media giants failed to reach a new carriage agreement before Thursday’s midnight deadline. The blackout will leave subscribers unable to watch content from Disney networks, including ESPN, ABC, Disney Channel, FX, National Geographic and Freeform.
Disney said the online pay-TV platform, which is owned by the tech giant Google and available only in the US, had refused to pay fair rates for the content, which also include National Geographic and the Disney channel.
YouTube TV dropped ESPN, ABC and other channels after a new deal couldn’t be reached.
Disney programming including ESPN, ABC and FX channels went dark on YouTube TV after the companies failed to reach agreement on contract renewal terms.
Disney and YouTube TV are stuck in a stalemate. ESPN personalities are appealing to YouTube TV customers, but their messages might not be resonating.