A contract dispute between Disney and YouTube TV has resulted in the removal of ESPN, ABC, FX and all other Disney-owned channels from the streaming service, with little indication that the standoff will be resolved soon.
The disagreement stems from the "carriage fee" that Google pays Disney in order to broadcast its channels on YouTube TV. Disney has run into similar negotiating standoffs with other broadcasters in the past, including Spectrum/Charter cable in 2023 and DirecTV in 2024.
Disney asked YouTube TV to restore its ABC channel for today's US election coverage, but YouTube TV rejected that request on Monday. In a blog post, YouTube said that offering one channel for only 24 hours would "cause customer confusion among those who may briefly see ABC on YouTube TV only to lose it again shortly after."
YouTube went a bit further in its rejection post, noting that viewers have many options for following election news on YouTube TV, and commenting, "on the last two U.S. election days, the vast majority of tuned-in YouTube TV subscribers chose not to watch ABC." Ouch.
Instead, YouTube TV proposed "immediately restoring the Disney channels that our customers watch: ABC and the ESPN networks, while we continue to negotiate."
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Disney says YouTube TV is not paying enough to stream its channels. YouTube TV, owned by Google, has the most subscribers of all other internet TV providers, more than 9 million. Hulu, owned by Disney, is second with 4.3 million subscribers through its Hulu + Live TV offering.
Which Disney channels were removed from YouTube TV?
Football fans aren't the only viewers left sidelined by the loss of Disney channels from YouTube TV. Here are all the channels that have been removed from the streaming service:
ABC
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