The previous contract between the companies expired last night, and as a result, all Disney-owned channels are no longer available to subscribers of YouTube TV. If Disney channels remain blacked out, the base plan will be reduced from $65 to $50 and the discount will be automatic.
We worked hard to avoid this but were unable to reach a fair deal with Disney. All Disney-owned channels are not available on TV on the internet. We'll decrease our price by 15% because Disney content isn't on our platform. We know how frustrating it is to lose channels like ABC and Disney, and will continue conversations with Disney in hopes of restoring their content for you.
The list of channels that are no longer on YouTube TV includes ABC, ABC News Live, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FX, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, and the SEC Network. The credits will be issued on this page.
"If you want to continue watching Disney's content, consider signing up for their own service, The Disney Bundle, which they offer for $13.98/month and which is subject to its own terms and restrictions," the website said.
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YouTube TV wanted a price guarantee.
We reported a few days ago that the Disney-owned YouTube TV was seeking a most-favored-nation clause. "Our request to Disney is to treat us like any other TV provider and offer us the same rates that we pay across Disney's channels for as long as we carry them," the company said at the time.
NBCUniversal channels were almost lost in a recent dispute. When the original contract expired, NBC and YouTube agreed to a short extension to avoid a blackout, and then struck a new multiyear deal.
There was no extension to prevent a Disney/YouTube TV dispute from going dark.
Disney said in a statement to news outlets that they had been in negotiations with the internet giant, but that they had not been able to reach a fair deal. Their subscribers have lost access to our unparalleled portfolio of networks including live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from ABC, the Disney channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. We are ready to reach an equitable agreement with Google as soon as possible in order to minimize the impact on viewers of YouTube TV. We hope that we will be able to join that effort.
