Key Points
- YouTube TV will start issuing $20 bill credits to customers from Sunday onward as ESPN, ABC and other Disney-owned channels remain unavailable to subscribers.
- The channels have been unavailable to YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers since Halloween morning.
- Both sides remain at an impasse over fees paid for distribution of the channels and other terms.
- Resource: Cheapest ways to watch ESPN during YouTube TV dispute
YouTube TV will issue a $20 credit to customers beginning Sunday as its dispute with the Walt Disney Company stretches into a second week, leaving millions of subscribers without access to ESPN, ABC stations and several other Disney-owned channels.
YouTube said the one-time credit will be available to all eligible subscribers if a deal has not been reached by Sunday morning — and a deal seems unlikely before then. Customers will receive an email with instructions on how to apply the credit to their next bill, with all credits issued by November 12.
“We know that subscribers are frustrated with the disruption and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement,” YouTube said Saturday. The company accused Disney of negotiating in bad faith and “resorting to their old playbook,” including leaking details to the press and misrepresenting proposals.
The programming dispute began early Halloween morning after the two companies failed to reach new distribution terms. YouTube TV, owned by Google, has about 10 million subscribers in the U.S., making it the largest streaming cable replacement on the market. The platform charges $83 per month for its base plan, which normally includes Disney-owned networks such as ESPN, FX, National Geographic and Freeform.
At issue are the rates YouTube TV pays Disney to carry its channels, along with contract length and flexibility in how those channels are packaged. YouTube TV has sought a shorter renewal term — closer to one or two years, compared to the three-year industry standard — and wants the ability to offer smaller, lower-priced channel bundles, including a potential sports-focused package featuring ESPN.
Disney executives say their terms are fair and consistent with deals reached by more than 500 distributors since last summer.
“Despite all this, YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions,” Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, wrote in a staff memo Friday.
The dispute has also affected nearly 200 ABC affiliates nationwide, since Disney negotiates streaming distribution for independently owned stations from companies including Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair, E.W. Scripps, Gray Media, TEGNA and Allen Media Group.
For now, YouTube TV subscribers can still access ESPN and other Disney sports content through ESPN Unlimited, or switch to other live TV streaming services such as Hulu with Live TV, Fubo or DIRECTV. Hulu with Live TV, also owned by Disney, is currently offering new customers a promotional rate of $65 per month, down from its usual $90.
