What you need to know
- Disney channels became unavailable on YouTube TV as of Oct. 30, 2025.
- YouTube TV and Disney failed to reach a deal as their distribution contract came up for renewal, displacing 21 channels, including ABC and ESPN.
- Both companies have made public statements defending their stances on the stalemate.
The blackout affects 21 channels, all of which are now unavailable on YouTube TV, including big names like ABC, ESPN, and The Disney Channel. It follows warnings from YouTube TV and Disney last week that the channels would go dark if the deadline passed.
“Each time we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing and greater flexibility to offer our subscribers the best possible live TV experience,” Google said in a support document. “Our current agreement with Disney has approached its renewal date, and we will not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products.”
Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV. This means you will no longer be able to watch channels like ABC and ESPN or access recordings from these networks in your Library.October 31, 2025
Both companies took to social media to defend their positions, with the official YouTube TV account on X (formerly Twitter) saying it is “committed to continuing to work with Disney to reach an agreement.” The blackout began during Scott Van Pelt’s show on ESPN, who shared a link to keepmynetworks.com on his personal X account. The site encourages YouTube TV subscribers to contact Google and demand Disney channels.
What Google and Disney are saying
“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,” Disney said in a statement to Yahoo. The company also called out YouTube TV’s parent company, Google, alleging it is using “market dominance to eliminate competition.”
YouTube TV says that if it can’t reach a deal with Disney and content remains unavailable for “an extended period of time,” it will offer subscribers a $20 credit.
Without a new agreement in place, their subscribers will not have access to our programming, which includes the best lineup in live sports – anchored by the NFL, NBA, and college football, with 13 of the top 25 college teams playing this weekend. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor.
Disney
Google claims Disney is trying to benefit its own live TV streaming products, which compete with YouTube TV. Just this week, Disney closed its acquisition of Fubo, which will merge with Hulu with Live TV — immediately making Disney’s live TV product the second-largest, trailing only YouTube TV.
Last week Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers. They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV. This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.
YouTube TV
Disney channels will remain off YouTube TV until if and when a deal is reached, and this displaces the following stations: ESPN, ESPN2, Freeform, FX, FXX, Disney Junior, SEC Network, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Disney Channel, ESPNU, FXM, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Disney XD, Localish, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes (Spanish Plan), Baby TV Español (Spanish Plan), and Nat Geo Mundo (Spanish Plan).
YouTube TV successfully navigated similar negotiations with NBCUniversal, Fox, and Paramount over content rights in 2025. We’ll have to wait and see whether it can do the same with Disney, and how long it might take to come to a resolution.
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