ESPN, Disney Blacked Out YouTube TV – Contract Dispute
- Here's a breakdown of the key information from the article,focusing on the Disney/YouTube TV dispute:
- * Disney and YouTube TV have failed to reach a new distribution agreement,resulting in Disney channels (including ESPN,ABC,etc.) being removed from YouTube TV.
- * Disney: Accuses YouTube TV of undervaluing their content and making insufficient offers.
Here’s a breakdown of the key information from the article,focusing on the Disney/YouTube TV dispute:
The Core Issue:
* Disney and YouTube TV have failed to reach a new distribution agreement,resulting in Disney channels (including ESPN,ABC,etc.) being removed from YouTube TV. This has been ongoing for nearly a month.
Positions of Each Side:
* Disney: Accuses YouTube TV of undervaluing their content and making insufficient offers.
* YouTube TV: Claims Disney used the threat of a blackout as a negotiating tactic to demand terms that woudl raise prices for YouTube TV subscribers. They point to recent prosperous agreements with NBCUniversal and fox as evidence of reasonable negotiation.
Underlying Tensions & Context:
* Competition: disney’s Hulu + Live TV and Fubo are direct competitors to YouTube TV.YouTube TV alleges Disney is trying to steer subscribers to their own services.
* Subscriber Loss for Disney: Disney recently lost subscribers after briefly suspending Jimmy Kimmel, and YouTube TV suggests Disney is trying to recoup those losses by pushing customers to their platforms.
* Personnel Move: A former Disney distribution chief, justin Connolly, now works at YouTube TV. Disney initially sued to prevent this move, but lost the case. This puts Connolly in a key negotiating position against his former employer.
* History of Disputes: This isn’t an isolated incident. Disney has had similar, public disputes with DirecTV (13-day blackout) and charter/Spectrum (10-day blackout) in the recent past.
Impact on Viewers:
* Viewers will miss popular content,specifically mentioning college football on ESPN/ABC and a “Monday Night Football” game.
* The dispute directly harms YouTube TV subscribers.
in essence, the article portrays a complex and ongoing battle between a major content provider (Disney) and a streaming TV platform (YouTube TV), fueled by financial interests, competition, and a history of contentious negotiations.