YouTube TV and Disney have reached a deal that will restore ESPN, ABC and other channels to the platform’s 10 million subscribers after nearly a two-week hiatus, the companies announced Friday night.
The deal will give YouTube TV subscribers access to ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer “Unlimited” service at no additional cost, as part of YouTube TV’s base plan. That is most notable for WWE fans, as WWE’s major events — including Wrestlemania — are now part of ESPN’s Unlimited offering. The Unlimited service will also be accessible directly on the YouTube TV platform.
YouTube TV subscribers pay a little more than $80 per month for the base plan. The rollout will be completed by the end of 2026.
All of Disney’s channels will remain on YouTube TV’s service, led by ABC and all of ESPN’s networks.
In a statement, YouTube TV said, “We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers. 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 Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman ad Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said, “This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch. It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.”
Since Oct. 30th, encompassing two weekends and Monday nights, YouTube TV subscribers have gone without ESPN’s expansive college football slate of games and “Monday Night Football,” which featured a stellar matchup of the Philadelphia Eagles at the Green Bay Packers this week.
Disney’s quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts Thursday morning served as a pseudo — but not absolute — deadline to force some movement in the negotiations. The Athletic reported Wednesday that there was potential renewed momentum, though the two sides were still haggling over how to treat Disney’s lesser-watched networks, like Freeform and National Geographic. As part of the agreement, all of Disney’s channels will continue to be part of YouTube TV’s service.
On Wednesday night, major progress was made, putting the deal in the red zone, but was not completed in time for Disney CEO Bob Iger to make an announcement during his call with analysts.
YouTube TV is on the rise as the cable-like platform with the third-most subscribers. Its 10 million subscribers are just below Spectrum and Comcast, which are in the 12 million range, with industry expectations that YouTube TV has the potential to eclipse the cable giants over the remainder of the decade. YouTube TV started in 2018 as a $35-per-month offering and has built its subscriber base, in large part, around live-sports viewing, making ESPN and its networks an essential partner.
In a sign that the negotiations were becoming even more serious, sources briefed on the talks said that Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, and Disney CEO Bob Iger had become more involved in recent days. Disney’s negotiation team has been led by its Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro.
YouTube TV’s global head of media and sports, Justin Connolly, had been forced to recuse himself from the negotiations. Connolly switched sides earlier this year, leaving Disney for YouTube TV, which resulted in lawsuits. Connolly, who was making $6 million a year, was finally allowed to break his Disney deal to join YouTube TV, but he was forced to sit out the talks. Connolly’s team was handling the talks and was said to be locked in with Walden, Bergman and Pitaro’s group Wednesday night as the two sides closed in on the agreement.
This past Sunday, YouTube TV sent out emails to customers, informing them they could click a button on their account page to redeem a $20 credit for being without ESPN and the Disney channels for more than a week.
On Monday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr, on his X account, wrote, “Google and Disney need to get a deal done and end this blackout. People should have the right to watch the programming they paid for — including football. Get it done!”
Now, the two sides have.