YouTube TV this afternoon announced that it has reached a new carriage agreement with Disney, ending a 39-hour blackout of 17 Disney-owned channels including ESPN, FX, Freeform, National Geographic, the Disney Channel and eight Disney-owned ABC stations, among others.
“We’re happy to announce that we’ve reached a deal with Disney and have already started to restore access to channels like ESPN and FX, and Disney recordings that were previously in your Library. Your local ABC station will also be turning on throughout the day,” @YouTubeTV tweeted at 2:56 p.m. ET.
The multi-channel, live streaming service said its base price will return to $64.99 a month. However, it will give a one-time $15 discount to all affected subscribers. YouTube TV lowered its base price to $49.99 early Saturday morning after the blackout began and said it would remain that price for the duration of the dispute.
“Our price will revert to $64.99, but all impacted members will still receive a one-time $15 discount. As always, we thank you for your membership and keep a lookout for an email with more details from us,” the company stated.
The blackout began early Saturday morning when the old carriage agreement expired. The companies were fighting over how much Google, which owns YouTube TV, should pay Disney for the rights to carry their channels. Terms of the new agreement were not disclosed.
The new deal was a must for YouTube TV which could have experienced widespread subscriber defections with the college football bowl season underway. ESPN has the broadcast rights to roughly three dozen bowl games, including seven yesterday.
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I stayed with YouTube TV through this and I’m glad I did. I was looking ahead at the college basketball schedule for next week on ESPN’s networks and thought about the first month of Sling for $10.00. I was a little disappointed at how this unfolded in the beginning but I learned that Youtube tv is the best fit for my family compared to the other options available. I’m sure price increases are coming. That’s a given.
I wish Youtube TV would pick up the Bally Sports Network. They had it when I first subscribed and I am and was very disappointed when it was dropped from their programming. If any of the other providers were to pick it up I would probably switch.
Don’t forget about the College Football Playoffs, the CFP Championship Game and the Citrus Bowl featuring my beloved Kentucky Wildcats.
“…all impacted members will still receive a one-time $15 discount.”
Isn’t that every subscriber???