ABC, ESPN and Disney
Digest more
Millions of YouTube TV subscribers have lost access to channels like ABC, ESPN, and FX after Disney and Google failed to reach a new distribution deal.Disney-owned networks officially went dark on YouTube TV at midnight EDT on Friday,
Carriage beef between Google and Disney leaves YouTube TV users without access to major sports telecasts this week.
The disagreement causing the ESPN and ABC outage stems from the "carriage fee" that YouTube TV pays Disney to broadcast its channels. Disney has faced similar negotiating standoffs with other broadcasters in recent years, including a 2021 outage on YouTubeTV that was resolved in two days.
ESPN, ABC and other Disney-owned channels have not been available on YouTube TV since Thursday because of an impasse in contract talks for a new distribution deal. YouTube TV subscribers could miss election coverage and "Monday Night Football.
With the blackout of ESPN, ABC and other Disney networks on YouTube TV, 24% of subscribers said they have already canceled or plan to, a survey found.