YouTube TV drops Disney’s ABC and ESPN after companies fail to reach deal

Google’s YouTube TV has dropped Disney’s ABC, ESPN and other networks after the companies failed to reach a deal to extend their content partnership, representatives announced on late Thursday night. Both companies plan to continue talks to find a resolution.

Disney’s networks were removed from YouTube TV just after 11 p.m. ET on Thursday, nearly an hour before the previous carriage deal expired. Both sides blamed each other after Disney asked for rate hikes which Google isn’t willing to pay.

As a result, Disney content is no longer available on YouTube TV, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Freeform, FX, FXX, Disney Junior, SEC Network, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, the Disney Channel, ESPNU, FXM, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Disney XD, Localish, ESPNews, and several Spanish channels.

“Each time we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing and greater flexibility to offer our subscribers the best possible live TV experience,” Google said in a statement. “Our current agreement with Disney has approached its renewal date, and we will not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products.”

The statement added: “It’s our goal to restore Disney content to YouTube TV, but if we can’t reach an agreement and their content is unavailable for an extended period of time, we’ll offer our subscribers a $20 credit.”

Meanwhile, a Disney statement said YouTube TV had chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value by refusing to pay “fair rates” for Disney channels.

“Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports — anchored by the NFL, NBA, and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend,” the statement said.

The statement added: “With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.”

Both sides pledged to find a resolution as quickly as possible.

“We’ll continue to negotiate with Disney in the hopes of achieving resolution, but we can’t speculate at this point about when that may happen or if their content will be restored on the platform,” Google said in a FAQ on its website.