In a big shake-up, YouTube TV is losing ESPN and other Disney-owned channels due to failed contract negotiations with Disney. In total, 18 of these Disney-owned channels–which also include National Geographic and Disney Channel–have now been removed. The price of YouTube TV is going down.
YouTube TV made the announcement overnight Eastern Time, saying in a statement to subscribers, “We have held good faith negotiations with Disney for several months. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before our existing one expired.”
All Disney-owned channels on YouTube TV–including ESPN and local ABC stations–have been removed. That’s a big deal because live sports is one of the most sought-after aspects of YouTube TV, and ESPN and its many networks carry a significant amount of sports programming.
”Members will not be able to watch live or local content from Disney and will also lose access to any previous Library recordings from these channels, including 4K content that is available as part of the 4K Plus add-on,” YouTube TV said.
Due to the change, the price of YouTube TV is falling by $15–from $65 to $50 per month for the base plan. “No action is needed on your part. A credit of $15 per month will automatically be issued. Once content is unavailable, this credit will be applied to your next bill after December 17 and will only be visible to family managers in Settings > Billing after the charge has taken place,” YouTube TV said. “Please note that if you have a promotional price with YouTube TV, you can still expect a $15 credit. Members who are in a paused state will receive this credit one month after their first charge.”
“We know this is frustrating news, and it is not the outcome we wanted. We will continue conversations with Disney to advocate on your behalf in hopes of restoring their content on YouTube TV.”
Disney released its own statement (via THR), saying that YouTube owner Google “declined to reach a fair deal based on market terms and conditions.” Like YouTube, Disney remains hopeful that the two sides can reach a deal to restore the channels.
“We stand ready to reach an equitable agreement with Google as quickly as possible in order to minimize the inconvenience to YouTube TV viewers by restoring our networks,” Disney said. “We hope Google will join us in that effort.”
If YouTube TV and Disney can reach an agreement in the future, the price will change again and subscribers will be notified ahead of time by email.
Below is the full list of programming that YouTube TV is losing:
Disney-owned channels no longer available on YouTube TV:
- Your local ABC channel
- ABC News Live
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- Freeform
- FX
- FXX
- FXM
- National Geographic
- National Geographic Wild
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPN3 (by authentication to the ESPN app)
- ESPNU
- ESPNEWS
- SEC Network
- ACC Network
