YouTube TV vs. Disney, Day 4: Is It Over?
By Phillip Swann
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YouTube TV early Friday morning (October 31, 2025) lost all Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, the ABC affiliates and FX, due to a carriage dispute between the companies. Until there is a settlement, The TV Answer Man will post a daily notice here on whether the blackout has been lifted. I will publish the update in the early morning hours so when you wake up, you can check whether the two sides have settled. I encourage you to bookmark the site for easier reference.
I will also include the latest news related to the fight in the daily post so you can find out what Disney and YouTube TV executives and subscribers are saying and doing in response to the blackout.
So, it’s day four. Monday at 3:53 a.m. ET. Is the dispute over? Nope. Let’s go to the updates:
Can Monday Night Football Force the Companies to Settle?
The first big test of both companies’ resolve was the weekend’s college football action with YouTube TV’s fans screaming for an end to the blackout. But tonight is the Monday Night Football matchup on ESPN between America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Arizona Cardinals. If neither Google or Disney (or both) cave before kickoff tonight, the odds are good that the dispute will last at least before next weekend’s college games. Why? If the Cowboys can’t force these guys to settle, who can?
YouTube TV Offering $60 to Keep Subscribers From Cancelling
YouTube TV has said that it will provide a $20 credit to subscribers if the blackout goes for an ‘extended period of time.’ However, several Reddit users have posted messages saying that the streamer is offering a $10 credit for six months to anyone who tries to cancel. The offer displays when the subscriber goes through the steps to cancel in their settings. It would appear that YouTube TV is getting a bit nervous about subscriber defections.
Local ABC Affiliates Say It’s Not Our Fault
The YouTube TV/Disney blackout includes all local ABC affiliates – even if they are not owned by Disney. This has prompted some ABC affiliates not owned by Disney to post apologies and explanations as to why YouTube TV viewers can’t watch their stations. They are urging YTTV subscribers to get antennas or seek a different provider.
FCC & Brendan Carr Silent On the Dispute
In August, Google’s YouTube TV was involved in a carriage dispute with Fox and FCC chief Brendan Carr publicly urged Google to settle the disagreement before a blackout occurred. And guess what? The companies settled. It says here that Carr’s intervention was a factor; tech companies these days are not inclined to test the Trump administration’s wrath. And the president, and Carr, clearly were siding with Fox over Google. However, Carr has not commented on the Disney-YouTube TV blackout since it began on Friday morning. Could it be because the president has been critical of both Google and Disney in the past and therefore doesn’t have a horse in the race?
Come back tomorrow morning for another ‘Is It Over Update.’ And if there are any significant changes in the dispute today, we will post them at TVAnswerman.com.
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Thanks for the tip on getting $10 off for 6 months. It just worked for me!
I just canceled YouTube TV and there was no credit offer and after I canceled I chatted with a rep that used words like the service “could” be restored and “if” the service come back. Thats not reassuring for anyone looking for a resolution. So I canceled. Literally 90% of the TV I consume is on those channels.