On October 30th, YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers began scrambling after losing access to all Walt Disney Company channels, including ABC and ESPN. The blackout follows Disney and Google’s failure to reach an updated agreement on terms for retransmitting Disney’s content.[1] This is especially concerning for college football fans (especially college students) who lack access to ABC on cable or a broadcast antenna. However, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and the ACC/SEC Networks are unavailable over the air, leaving viewers in a tough spot: do they wait out the blackout and miss their favorite teams play? Or do they “bite the bullet” by paying to switch providers or add the ESPN unlimited plan to receive access to games?
The Disney blackout impacts viewers beyond sports fans—diehard fans of other shows, such as “Dancing with the Stars,” are also feeling the effects.
In hopes of lessening the impact of the Disney blackout, Google states that if an agreement is not reached by November 16th, it will offer a $20 credit to YouTube TV subscribers on their next billing statement.[2]
According to a survey of 8,000 subscribers to The Pulse, 64% of YouTube TV subscribers blame ESPN and/or Disney for the blackout, 56% have considered cancelling their subscription due to the Disney blackout, and 4% have cancelled their subscription.[3] While this poll clearly has issues with representativeness, it is clear that subscribers who use YouTube TV for sports viewing are unhappy with the blackout.
Update: As of November 14, Disney and YouTube TV reached a new deal to bring ABC and ESPN back to YouTube TV, ending the two-week blackout.
Photo credits: https://deadline.com/2025/09/youtube-tv-streaming-deals-1236557290/
[1] Goldstein, Steven, ABC and ESPN are blacked out on YouTube TV. Here are the next options for subscribers. The Athletic (Nov. 3, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6773997/2025/11/03/abc-espn-youtube-tv-how-to-watch/.
[2] Henderson, Devon & Andrew Marchand, YouTube TV to offer $20 credit to subscribers if contract standoff with ESPN continues: Source, The Athletic (Nov. 8, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6790310/2025/11/08/espn-youtubetv-credit-negotiations/.
[3] Shanoff, Dan, How do fans feel about the YouTube TV-ESPN standoff? We asked 8,000 of them, The Athletic (Nov. 7, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6785666/2025/11/07/youtubetv-espn-disney-google-poll/.
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