Disney reaches new deal with YouTube TV, ending dayslong blackout for customers

Disney and YouTube TV reached a new deal to bring channels like ABC and ESPN back to the Google-owned live streaming platform Friday ending a blackout for customers that dragged on for about two weeks As part of the new deal Disney s full suite of networks and stations including ESPN and ABC have already begun to be restored to YouTube TV subscribers The Walt Disney Co noted in a announcement We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the several great initiatives options this weekend including college football Disney content had gone dark on YouTube TV the night of Oct after two sides failed to reach a new licensing deal In the days that followed YouTube TV subscribers were left without Disney channels on the platform notably disrupting coverage of top U S college football matchups and professional sports games among other news and entertainment offerings Beyond ESPN and ABC other Disney-owned content removed from YouTube TV during the impasse included channels like NatGeo FX Freeform SEC Configuration ACC System and more At the time the carriage dispute reached its boiling point YouTube TV commented that Disney was proposing terms that would be too costly resulting in higher prices and fewer choices for its subscribers And the platform accused Disney of using the blackout as a negotiating tactic claiming that the move also benefited Disney s own streaming products like Hulu Live TV and Fubo Disney meanwhile mentioned that YouTube TV had refused to pay fair rates for its channels The California entertainment giant also accused Google of using its territory dominance to eliminate competition And executives blasted the platform for pulling content prior to the midnight expiration of their deal last month On Nov Disney also petitioned YouTube TV to restore ABC offerings for Poll Day on Nov to put the constituents interest first But YouTube TV commented this temporary reprieve would confuse customers and instead proposed that the entertainment giant agree to restore both its ABC and ESPN channels while the two sides continue negotiations The blackout marked the latest in growing list of licensing disputes in in the modern day s streaming world And consumers often pay the price From sports events to awards shows live programs that was once reserved for broadcast has increasingly made its way into the streaming world over the years as more and more consumers ditch traditional cable or satellite TV subscriptions for content they can get online But amid growing competition renewing carriage agreements can also mean tense contract negotiations and at times institution disruptions YouTube TV and Disney have been down this road before In YouTube TV subscribers also briefly lost access to all Disney content on the platform after a similar contract breakdown between the two companies That outage lasted less than two days with the companies eventually reaching an agreement Meanwhile YouTube TV has removed other networks from its platform after expired agreements Spanish-language broadcaster Univision has been unavailable on YouTube TV since Sept for example At the time its parent company TelevisaUnivision decried Google s move noting it would strip millions of Hispanic viewers of the Spanish-language news sports and entertainment they rely on every day and called on the platform to reverse subject YouTube TV s base subscription plan costs per month which beyond Disney content presently includes live TV offerings from networks like NBC CBS Fox PBS and more The platform previously declared it would give subscribers a credit its dispute with Disney lasted an extended period of time which it reportedly allowed customers to start claiming on Nov Disney also doles out live TV through both traditional broadcasting and its own lineup of streaming platforms ESPN launched its own streamer earlier this year starting at a month And other Disney content can be located on platforms like Hulu Disney and Fubo Disney right now allows people to bundle ESPN along with Hulu and Disney for a month or a month for the first year