Andrew Heinzman
The billion-dollar corporations are fighting in public again! YouTube TV warns customers that it may lose over 17 Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and ABC News, due to a dispute over distribution renewal fees. On the bright side, YouTube TV will cost $15 less if it loses Disney-owned channels on December 17th.
As expected, the story behind this dispute is stupid and should be handled with private negotiations, not public whining. YouTube TV says that Disney won’t offer it the same rates as “any other TV provider,” and Disney tells Variety that it’s just trying “to reach a fair, market-based agreement.”
Here are the Disney-owned channels that YouTube TV could lose:
- ABC News Live
- ABC News (Local Channels)
- ACC Network
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- Freeform
- FX
- FXX
- FXM
- National Geographic
- National Geographic Wild
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPN3
- ESPNU
- ESPNEWS
- SEC Network
YouTube TV notes that customers can pause or cancel their service at any time. Additionally, and this is a bit weird, it suggests subscribing to the $14 per month Disney Bundle (which includes Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu) in the event that negotiations fail.
This is just the latest example of streaming services, and YouTube TV in particular, taking business disputes public. Over the last year, YouTube TV has fought with NBCUniversal and Roku, though both disputes led to a “fair” agreement.
Source: Google
