After Disney networks went dark late Oct. 30, they are now coming back to YouTube TV. After a two-week blackout, the sides have reached an agreement to end their carriage dispute.
Disneys full lineup of channels will return to YouTube TV, beginning Friday. The networks should make their return over the next 24 hours, including library recordings. Additionally, ESPNs full lineup of sports including content from the ESPN Unlimited app, launched earlier this year will be made available to YouTube TVs base plan subscribers at no additional cost by the end of 2026.
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Were happy to share that weve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers, a YouTube TV spokesperson said in a statement to On3. Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers patience as we negotiated on their behalf.
Disney also released a statement Friday after the news broke. The company confirmed the full list of channels is already coming back.
As part of the new deal, Disneys full suite of networks and stations including ESPN and ABC have already begun to be restored to YouTube TV subscribers, the statement read.
The deal between YouTube TV and Disney was due to expire Oct. 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. That night, at approx. 11:27 p.m. ET, ESPN and the rest of the Disney networks went dark on the service. A blackout had begun after the two sides failed to reach a deal.
The blackout continued through Week 11 of the college football season and through the start of college basketball season. It also resulted in NFL fans missing two Monday Night Football games the Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles.
If the disruption went on for an extended period of time, YouTube TV said it would offer customers a $20 credit. That offer came Nov. 9, and the service later sent subscribers a link to claim it.
The timing of the carriage dispute came at an important time in the calendar for ESPN. In addition to Monday Night Football, NHL games and college football schedule, the NBA tipped off just before the disruption. College basketball then officially started Nov. 3 with both mens and womens games.
The blackout began Oct. 30, one day before ESPNs Friday slate of college football games in Week 10. In an Oct. 31 memo to Disney employees, Disney Entertainment co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, as well as ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, Disney said YouTube TV pulled its networks early without any notice. The company said it illustrated Google was not looking for a fair deal in the negotiations.
More than a week later, in a memo to Disney employees on Nov. 7, obtained by On3, executives said they indicated a deal was not likely before Week 11 of college football. Disney also accused YouTube TV of choosing not to compete on a level playing field.
YouTube TV then responded. In a statement, the service called out Disney for, leaking documents to the press, negotiating in public through their paid talent and misrepresenting the facts including from the deals theyve offered and taking credit for our product proposals.
The impasse then went through Disneys earnings call on Thursday despite reported optimism for some momentum. During the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnson said the company was ready to go as long as [YouTube TV wants] to as the dispute continued.
ABC, specifically, has gotten off to a dominant start to the college football season. The network has aired 22 of the 25 most-watched games of the year. Thats led by Georgias overtime victory against Tennessee in Week 3.
The blackout continued across two college football Saturdays, and ESPN made College GameDay available for free on its app, as well as Pat McAfees X account. ESPN announced the Week 10 show averaged 2.0 million viewers on linear, while McAfees account brought in another 1.2 million unique viewers. The show averaged 2.2 million viewers in Week 11 and drew 1.2 million unique users on McAfees account for that show ahead of BYU at Texas Tech.
As a whole, though, ratings appeared to be impacted. ABC was still the overall leader in Week 10 with 7.8 million people watching the Florida vs. Georgia rivalry game and Alabamas win over LSU averaged 7.5 million in Week 11. But FOX led the early window both Saturdays. Ohio States win over Penn State brought in 7.2 million viewers on average in Week 10. Indianas thrilling Week 11 over the Nittany Lions also averaged 6.03 million.
Additionally, Monday Night Football between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys brought in 16.2 million viewers in Week 9. Thats a roughly 20% decrease from last years Week 9 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Week 10 game, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles take down the Green Bay Packers, bounced back well with 20.6 million viewers on average.