YouTube TV vs. Disney: Elon Musk’s Grok Blames Disney For the Blackout

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

The Disney-YouTube TV carriage dispute has many of the streamer’s subscribers asking who’s to blame. However, Grok, the Artificial Intelligence service offered by Elon Musk’s X, says the answer is clear:

It’s Disney.

“Based on the ongoing carriage dispute, both sides share responsibility for failing to reach a deal. Disney pulled the channels over demands for higher fees while YouTube TV resisted to avoid price hikes for subscribers. If forced to pick, Disney bears more blame for initiating the blackout,” Grok responded this morning to our inquiry regarding which company should be blamed for YouTube TV last night losing the entire suite of Disney channels, including ABC, ESPN and FX.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Google-owned Gemini AI service has another view and does not blame one company over the other in the carriage scrap when asked this morning. Gemini responded that the fight is over financial issues but it did not lay the responsibility on a single company. (YouTube TV is owned by Google.)

Microsoft’s AI, CoPilot, also did not find greater fault with one company:

“Both YouTube TV (owned by Google) and Disney share responsibility in the carriage dispute, as each side is accusing the other of being unreasonable in negotiations,” CoPilot stated. “Neither side is blameless — both are using their leverage to push for better terms, and consumers are caught in the middle.”

ChatGPT, another AI service, also resisted taking sides in the scrap:

“Both parties are culpable. Disney probably has strong leverage given the value of its channels (especially live sports) and is seeking top-tier fees YouTube TV is likely seeking to limit price rises and keep flexibility, which is reasonable in a changing streaming environment. The breakdown shows that neither side was willing to compromise enough ahead of the deadline,” ChatGPT stated.

Please consider making a donation to The TV Answer Man site here at the Buy Me a Coffee site. Any donation size is appreciated and will help me continue to provide these articles to you.

Have a Question? Ask The TV Answer Man!
Have a question about a favorite show, streaming service or new TV product? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.