The feud between YouTube TV and Disney has ended. Disney's channels are back on the streaming service after a blackout of over 2 weeks.
YouTube TV subscribers had lost access to Disney, ESPN, ABC, and more, after a contract between YouTube TV and Disney expired on October 30th. Things got pretty dirty between the two companies, as they engaged in a game of blame publicly, where they claimed the other party was being stubborn. This resulted in over 10 million YouTube TV subscribers losing access to sporting events like Monday Night Football, and other programming.
YouTube for its part alleged that Disney had threatened to black out its services in a bid to force its hand in a deal that would make the service more expensive for users. In case you don't know, YouTube TV costs $82 per month. On the other hand, Disney claimed that YouTube was trying to abuse its dominant position, to undercut industry standard terms. As the spat between the two continued, a memo signed by three Disney's executives was leaked.
The NY Times reported that The Athletic had read the memo. The document had said that Disney had offered YouTube fair terms that were in line with over 500 distributors, including some that were bigger than YouTube TV. It also said that YouTube TV was unwilling to accept these terms, and insisted on receiving preferential terms. YouTube hit back at this, saying Disney had leaked documents to the press, and was using its network presenters to negotiate in public, and also that it had misrepresented the facts.
Even as the drama continued last week, YouTube TV issued a one-time credit of $20 that subscribers could avail. But, things have taken a surprising turn. Google and Disney have finally come to an agreement. YouTube has updated its statement to say Disney's channels are now back on YouTube TV, and has apologized to subscribers for the disruption. The Walt Disney Company also published a statement on its website to say it has reached a multi-year distribution agreement with YouTube TV, and that Disney's channels including ESPN, ABC, Freeform, FX, the National Geographic channels are all available for YouTube TV subscribers.
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