The contentious contract negotiations between The Walt Disney Co. and YouTube TV have resulted in a blackout of Disney-owned programming on the pay TV operator. That will leave subscribers without access to high-profile NFL, college football, NBA and other sports and entertainment programming until a new carriage deal is concluded.
The blackout includes ESPN; ABC broadcast programming in markets like New York and Los Angeles; where Disney owns the ABC affiliate; and other Disney-owned networks. The channels were removed from YouTube TV Thursday evening.
As usual in these negotiations, both sides blamed each other for the impasse.
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YouTube TV attacked Disney for insisting on terms that would push up prices for pay TV subscribers, while Disney complained that “with a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”
The dispute comes as pay TV operators have been trying to control prices as a way to slow subcriber losses from cord-cutting, and as large programmers like Disney have been launching direct-to-consumer streaming services that allow consumers to access high-profile programming outside the pay TV ecosystem.
In a statement, YouTube said, “last week, Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers. They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.
“We've been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content on YouTube TV,” the vMVPD said. “Unfortunately, Disney is proposing costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products—like Hulu+Live TV and, soon, Fubo. Without an agreement, we'll have to remove Disney’s content from YouTube TV and if it remains unavailable for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit.”
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In response, a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter: “Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports—anchored by the NFL, NBA and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”