Updated: Disney vs. YouTube TV: How Can You Keep Watching ESPN, ABC?

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

TV Answer Man, help!! How do we keep watching ESPN with the YouTube TV blackout? Does the new ESPN app have a free trial? Are there any sneaky backdoor methods? Hint, hint. – Pete, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Pete, as you know, YouTube TV this morning lost all Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, ABC and FX, in a carriage dispute after the two sides could not reach a new agreement. The blackout has sent subscribers scrambling for alternatives, particularly with a big college football weekend coming up.

The bad news here is that the new ESPN Unlimited app, which offers live feeds of all ESPN channels and live sports airing on ABC, does not offer a free trial.

However, Fubo and DIRECTV streaming do offer five-day free trials and both carry the entire suite of Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and the ABC affiliates. Either service would get you through this weekend as well as the first few days of next week.

Update: One reader says Fubo had a one-day free trial when he tried to sign up. Fubo, which is now part of Disney, could be switching up to limit free trials after the YouTube TV blackout.

Update #2: Asked today if Fubo changed the free trial to one day, a spokesperson told The TV Answer Man: “We are always experimenting with free trial periods, both longer and shorter, and this is one.”

Update #3: Fubo’s free trial was back to five days on Saturday.

If the Disney-YouTube TV impasse goes long, your options shrink. You can install an antenna to get your ABC affiliate – assuming you’re able to get a strong signal where you live – but that won’t help with ESPN or the other Disney channels. For the Disney programming, you could subscribe to Disney+ for a minimum of $11.99 a month. (There’s no free trial.) For the ESPN programming, the Unlimited app costs $29.99 a month and, again, there is no free trial.

Pete, I hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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