Disney pulls ABC, ESPN and more
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This article was originally published on October 30 and has been updated with the latest in the YouTube-Disney negotiations.,Forget the streaming wars. How about the carriage wars? In the past year, YouTube has had heated negotiations with a number of entertainment companies, from NBCUniversal to Paramount to Univision, as it’s re-situated itself as a major streaming and pay-TV competitor. Now YouTube TV and the Walt Disney Company find themselves at loggerheads as they go over renewal talks for Disney cable channels on the live-television streamer. Their contract has expired without a deal, and if you’re a YouTube TV subscriber, you’ve lost a lot of channels and are probably wondering what happens next.,,What exactly is going on between YouTube and Disney?,Disney provides many of its channels to YouTube TV — including ABC, ESPN, and more — but the two are having trouble renewing their carriage contract. YouTube has been butting heads with Disney over pricing. The Wall Street Journal reports that YouTube also wants shorter length deals with entertainment companies to gain more “leverage.” In a statement, YouTube said their negotiations with Disney have been “good faith” efforts to pay the company fairly for their channels on the streamer. They mention Disney’s counter-proposal includes “costly economic terms” that would raise prices for YouTube TV subscribers and would only be “benefiting Disney’s own live TV products — like Hulu + Live TV and, soon, Fubo.”,Disney countered in a statement, saying, “Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor,” and they request for them to “pay fair rates.” But their contract expired on October 30, at 11:59 p.m., and there seems to be no short-term extension in sight.,How will that affect my YouTube TV subscription?,Yes — in fact, it already has. Now that the contract has expired, YouTube TV subscribers will no longer have access to Disney-owned broadcast channels, if the two companies cannot agree on a renewal deal. So that would include ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Nat Geo, and FX channels. YouTube claims that it would compensate its subscribers with a $20 credit if these channels remain off the service for an “extended period of time.” Twenty dollars will get you a month of Disney+ if you’re desperate for that Dancing With the Stars finale. Speaking of which…,So, no Dancing With the Stars?,Exactly. Time to start bugging a friend with Hulu + Live TV instead or invest in an antenna if you want to keep watching the hottest show on TV right now.,Wait, what about my sports?,Well, it’s kind of a doozy. If pro football is your main concern, you’ll still have access to Sunday Night Football through NBC as well as NFL games on Fox, NFL Network, and NFL Sunday Ticket. But when it comes to Monday Night Football, you’re out of luck if you only subscribe to YouTube TV. ESPN is included in Disney’s collection of channels, so you won’t have access to any of their offerings. That includes college football (including College Gameday), the NBA, NWSL, and more. Having ESPN definitely gives Disney some good leverage towards YouTube, despite it coming at the cost of your regular sports programming. Ah, streaming.,How long will this last?,It’s up in the air right now. YouTube has navigated similar impasses with other entertainment companies this year. In February, ahead of March Madness, YouTube and Paramount found themselves at a standstill. The two negotiated a short-term extension to continue talks and were able to prevent a blackout. NBCUniversal also received a short-term extension when their deal with YouTube expired a month ago; they reached an agreement days later so that NBC’s channels could remain for subscribers. On the other hand, YouTube proved unable to reach a deal with Univision, so its cable channels have been dark on YouTube TV since September 30, despite the displeasure of even President Trump.,As for Disney, the company recently announced a 70 percent majority stake in Fubo TV, the pay TV company that was poised to sue Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery for the doomed Venu sports venture. The Mouse now intends to merge Fubo TV with Hulu + Live TV, a combo that could rival YouTube TV as a live television provider. This deal may be the reason Disney is challenging Google/YouTube, or at least why the company is taking its time in negotiations. Ahead of Election Day, however, Disney publicly proposed a deal for ABC to return to YouTube TV.,So I can watch ABC on YouTube TV again then?,In a strange move, Disney is looking to restore ABC on YouTube TV … for one day. According to a Disney spokesperson, the company is asking YouTube TV to include ABC back on the service for Election Day on Thursday, November 4. “We believe in putting the public interest first and hope YouTube TV will take this small step for their customers while we continue to work toward a fair agreement,” says Disney. We reached out to YouTube for comment.,RelatedThe Hottest Show on TV Is 20 Years OldHow YouTube Won the Living RoomSports-Streaming Bundle Spiked Before the Kickoff
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