YouTube TV's 10 million subscribers faced another blackout-plagued weekend, losing access to ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels in a massive dispute—the largest TV blackout in a decade—starting October 30 over failed contract negotiations.
The impasse stems from Google's refusal to meet Disney's demands for higher fees to fund content production, streaming goals, and ESPN's costly sports rights deals.
“Unfortunately, we are headed into another sports-packed weekend without a deal in place,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman wrote in a Friday staff memo, noting the sides remain far apart on key terms.
Subscribers saw a stark message—“Disney channels are unavailable”—instead of shows like “College GameDay,” “Monday Night Football,” or “Dancing With the Stars.” “Everyone is kind of sick of these big-time companies trying to get the best of one another,” said 30-year-old San Francisco-area subscriber Nick Newton.
Disney accused YouTube TV of using its market power to demand concessions, stating: “Rather than compete on a level playing field, Google’s YouTube TV has approached these negotiations as if it were the only player in the game.”
This follows similar complaints since August from Fox Corp., NBCUniversal, and TelevisaUnivision.
YouTube countered that Disney is “resorting to their old tactics,” including leaking documents, public negotiations via paid talent, and misrepresenting facts. “Our team stands ready to make a fair agreement in line with their deals with other distributors and we encourage Disney to come to the table and do what’s best for our mutual customers,” a YouTube spokesperson said.