21 Disney Channels Still Off YouTube in Ongoing Contract Dispute
YouTube removed over 20 Disney-owned channels -- including ESPN, FX and ABC -- from the site after the previous contract ended on Oct. 30 just before midnight.
Written by Jackie Leavitt (Editor at Large)
Reviewed by Aleksander Hougen (Chief Editor)
Last Updated:
The companies continue to negotiate the “carriage fee” that Google, the parent company of YouTube, pays Disney to broadcast its channels.
The sites remain off YouTube as the companies continue to negotiate on a new deal and fair rates.
“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,” a Disney spokesperson commented in a statement.
The stalemate also means sports fans are missing ESPN games that would have previously aired on YouTube.
Additionally, Disney requested that YouTube restore ABC for 24 hours to cover the Nov. 4 elections, which YouTube denied, sharing its email response in a post. Instead, YouTube asked Disney to make ABC and ESPN available while the companies continue negotiations.
Meanwhile, Google has said it would give subscribers a $20 credit if the deal continues to stall.
Here’s a list of the affected YouTube TV channels:
- ABC
- ABC News Live
- ACC Network
- Baby TV Español
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPNU
- ESPNews
- ESPN Despotes
- Freeform
- FX
- FXM
- FXX
- Localish
- Nat Geo
- Nat Geo Wild
- Nat Geo Mundo
- SEC Network
We’ll continue monitoring this ongoing story and post any updates as they happen, so make sure to sign up for our newsletter (using the sign-up form below) to stay in the loop.