ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned networks have gone dark on YouTube TV after a carriage dispute between the two companies escalated Thursday night, hours before their current contract was officially set to expire.
In a rare break from industry protocol, the blackout occurred shortly after 11:15 pm ET, ahead of the midnight expiration. Sources familiar with the negotiations told Deadline that YouTube required extra operational time to wind down the service and notify its subscribers.
This has left around 10 million YouTube TV customers without access to major programming, including Thursday Night shows on ABC, college football, and other high-profile sports events.
“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC. 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. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible,” Disney said in a statement to Deadline
“Last week, Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers. They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers, and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV,” YouTube responded with its own statement to Deadline.
YouTube added that if Disney channels remain unavailable “for an extended period of time,” subscribers will receive a $20 credit toward their monthly bills.
What is the future of this deal?
This latest flare-up marks YouTube TV’s fifth carriage dispute in 2025 and its fourth in just three months. While last-minute deals with NBCUniversal, Paramount, and Fox kept their networks on the service, Univision has remained dark since September. Disney, meanwhile, has faced similar clashes with Charter, DirecTV, and Sling in recent years.
For viewers, the blackout could disrupt a packed weekend of programming. College football fans will miss key matchups like Vanderbilt vs. Texas and games featuring Georgia, Ole Miss, and Miami.
Primetime hits including Dancing with the Stars, Shark Tank, and FX’s The Lowdown will also be affected, though episodes will still stream later on Disney+ and Hulu.
Disney’s strategic balancing act between its linear networks and streaming ambitions continues to shape its negotiations. The company recently launched a new ESPN subscription service offering access to both linear and streaming-only programming, but YouTube TV is not among the distributors providing free authentication for that app.
Sources close to the negotiations say the primary tension centers on carriage fees rather than YouTube’s so-called “ingestion” request, the ability to integrate programming from media companies’ streaming services directly into YouTube TV’s interface.