YouTube TV loses access to ESPN, ABC and other Disney channels

Google has failed to strike a deal that would allow it to continue offering YouTube TV subscribers access to Disney’s channels. The tech giant warned customers a few days ago that Disney channels, including ABC, ESPN and FX, might disappear before midnight of December 17th if they can’t come to terms with carriage fees. Back then, it was optimistic that it could get the outcome it wanted. But now, Google has told customers that the companies were unable to reach an agreement before their existing one expired despite holding negotiations for several months.

The company said negotiations fell through despite its best efforts but that it “will continue conversations with Disney to advocate on [viewers’] behalf.” Disney, however, told The Streamable in a statement that YouTube TV has “declined to reach a fair deal with [the company] based on market terms and conditions.” 

The company added: “As a result, their subscribers have lost access to our unrivaled portfolio of networks including live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from ABC, the ESPN networks, the Disney channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. We stand ready to reach an equitable agreement with Google as quickly as possible in order to minimize the inconvenience to YouTube TV viewers by restoring our networks. We hope Google will join us in that effort.”

Here’s the list of Disney-owned channels no longer available on YouTube TV:

Google has lowered YouTube TV’s price by $15 a month (from $65 to $50 for Basic tier) while Disney channels aren’t available on the platform. For now, it’s advising viewers to sign up for The Disney Bundle at $14 a month if they want continued access to the channels that were removed from YouTube TV.