Disney vs. YouTube TV: Is It Over? – YES IT IS!

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Buy Me a Coffee!

YouTube TV and Disney have signed a new carriage agreement, ending a 15-day blackout of the Disney channels (including ESPN and ABC) on the Google-owned streamer, according to a report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. (Update: YouTube TV and Disney have now confirmed the deal.)

Alex Sherman of CNBC posts on X that a YouTube TV spokesperson says the Disney channels should be returned “over the course of the day.” Update: An ESPN press release says the channels are already being restored to YouTube TV. Update #2: As of 8 p.m. ET, most of the channels, including ESPN, have been restored.

Here’s a statement from YouTube TV:

“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers. Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf.”

The deal comes on the eve of another weekend of college football on ABC and ESPN. However, for the first time since October 31, 2025, YouTube TV subscribers will be able to watch the games as well as Monday Night Football on Monday (November 17, 2025).

YouTube TV, which has roughly 10 million subscribers, lost the Disney channels on Halloween when the old carriage pact expired. Since then, the two companies have engaged in a war of words over which one was to blame for the impasse.

Both Disney and YouTube TV were significantly hurt by the dispute with the former losing nearly $5 million a day in carriage fees and the latter losing an untold number of subscribers who switched to services that carried the Disney channels.

However, with the Disney deal now in place, YouTube TV is in a position of strength in the pay TV category, having also recently secured multi-year agreements with NBC and Fox.

YouTube TV subscribers will also get full and free access to the ESPN Unlimited app. But it’s unclear when that access will start.

CNBC’s Sherman says the ESPN Unlimited app deal will not go into effect until the end of 2026:

“For the ESPN/YouTube TV fans, according to YouTube (as I reported yesterday): ESPN’s full lineup of sports – including content from ESPN Unlimited – will be made available on YouTube TV to base plan subscribers at no additional cost by the end of 2026,” Sherman posted tonight.

YouTube TV is also expected at some point to offer ESPN in a slimmed-down less expensive sports bundle similar to those now offered by DIRECTV and Fubo. No details on when that plan will be introduced.

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