Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV after deal lapses

19 Dec 2021

Axios

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Disney channels go dark on YouTube TV after deal lapses

It's one of the biggest programming blackouts on YouTube TV ever.

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Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Disney channels went dark on Google's YouTube TV late Friday after the two companies failed to come to a distribution agreement.

Why it matters: The blackout came ahead of the kickoff to college football bowl season. ESPN has the rights to air many of those games.

Details: Disney first warned customers on Monday that its contract with YouTube TV would expire on Friday at midnight. At the time, it said it was "optimistic" that the two parties could reach a deal.

YouTube also issued a warning, calling Disney "an important partner" and affirming that it was in "active conversations" with Disney to reach a deal.
It told customers that if a deal wasn't reached, it would decrease its monthly price by $15, from $64.99 to $49.99, while Disney's content remained blacked out.

Be smart: Disney distributed 18 channels on YouTube TV across ABC Owned Television Stations, ESPN networks, Disney channels, Freeform, FX networks and National Geographic.

Its sports programming was by far the most important content it distributed on YouTube TV because most people buy live TV packages for sports.
Sports fans took to Twitter to express frustration with the blackouts, with some suggesting they may switch digital live TV providers.

The irony: The two fastest-growing digital bundles for live TV are Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. Both have about 4 million subscribers, per analyst estimates and company reports. Disney is the majority owner of Hulu.

While a YouTube blackout will significantly impact Disney's distribution, it could add more Hulu with Live TV subscribers in the short term.

What they're saying: In a statement following the blackout, Disney said YouTube TV "declined to reach a fair deal with us based on market terms and conditions."

YouTube told customers it held "good faith negotiations with Disney for several months," but despite its best efforts, the companies were "unable to reach an equitable agreement before our existing one expired."

The big picture: These types of carriage disputes have become more common in the streaming era, mimicking the cable TV blackouts that predated them.