{"id":249072,"date":"2025-10-24T17:41:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/249072\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T17:41:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:41:08","slug":"espn-abc-risk-going-dark-on-youtube-tv-as-disney-contract-fight-heats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/249072\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN, ABC risk going dark on YouTube TV as Disney contract fight heats up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walt Disney Co. has warned that its channels \u2014 including ESPN and ABC \u2014 could disappear from YouTube TV<\/a> as the media giants battle over a new carriage deal ahead of an Oct. 30 deadline.<\/p>\n

The standoff, which threatens to strip access to some of TV\u2019s most popular networks from millions of subscribers, marks YouTube TV\u2019s fourth major carriage dispute in the past several months and the latest flashpoint in the escalating cost war over streaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t reach a fair deal soon, YouTube TV customers will lose access to ESPN and ABC, and all our marquee programming \u2013 including the NFL, college football, NBA and NHL seasons \u2013 and so much more,\u201d a Disney spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Google-owned YouTubeTV says that it could drop Disney-owned networks due to a carriage dispute. PixieMe \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Disney began running on-air messages alerting viewers that ABC, ESPN, FX, National Geographic and Disney Channel may go dark next week if talks fail.<\/p>\n

The Burbank, Calif.-based entertainment company accused YouTube\u2019s owner Google of \u201cexploiting its position at the expense of their own customers,\u201d saying YouTube TV was \u201cputting their subscribers at risk of losing the most valuable networks they signed up for.\u201d<\/p>\n

YouTube shot back that Disney was demanding \u201ccostly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube customers and give our customers fewer choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout an agreement, we\u2019ll have to remove Disney\u2019s content from YouTubeTV,\u201d a YouTube spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company said it has negotiated \u201cin good faith\u201d and promised a $20 credit to subscribers if the blackout drags on.<\/p>\n

The feud underscores a year of mounting tension between streaming distributors and legacy programmers as retransmission fees climb and audiences fragment.<\/p>\n

YouTubeTV viewers could be cut off from ESPN if the two sides don\u2019t reach a deal by Oct. 30. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Disney also owns the ABC television network. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s Hulu + Live TV directly competes with YouTubeTV, while Disney is also in the process of acquiring sports streamer Fubo \u2014 a move YouTube cited as proof that Disney is seeking an upper hand.<\/p>\n

YouTube TV\u2019s agreement with Disney expires Oct. 30. If no deal is reached, millions could lose access to ESPN\u2019s coverage of the NFL, college football, NBA and NHL, as well as ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d \u201cWorld News Tonight,\u201d \u201cDancing with the Stars,\u201d \u201cAbbott Elementary\u201d and syndicated staples \u201cWheel of Fortune\u201d and \u201cJeopardy!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe invest significantly in our content and expect our partners to pay fair rates that recognize that value,\u201d Disney stated.<\/p>\n

The dispute caps months of friction between Google and traditional media groups.<\/p>\n

The Walt Disney Co. accused Google of \u201cexploiting its position at the expense of their own customers.\u201d GC Images<\/p>\n

Fox and NBCUniversal each narrowly avoided blackouts in August and early October after accusing YouTube TV of using its market dominance to push unfavorable terms.<\/p>\n

Univision wasn\u2019t as lucky \u2014 its channels went dark last month after fee talks collapsed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

President Trump has waded into the disputes, saying on Oct. 4 that Google should put Univision back on YouTube TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the fourth time in three months, Google\u2019s YouTubeTV is putting their subscribers at risk,\u201d Disney said Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from Google and Disney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walt Disney Co. has warned that its channels \u2014 including ESPN and ABC \u2014 could disappear from YouTube…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1855,28,3716,88,352,168,10815,92,72175],"class_list":{"0":"post-249072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-abc","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-disney","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-espn","13":"tag-google","14":"tag-media","15":"tag-tv","16":"tag-youtube-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}