YouTube TV and Disney announced Friday night that they reached an agreement to restore ESPN, ABC and other Disney-owned channels to YouTube TV’s roughly 10 million subscribers after nearly a two-week blackout that began on Oct. 30. The deal folds ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service, ESPN Unlimited, into YouTube TV’s base package at no extra cost and makes Unlimited directly accessible on the YouTube TV platform. Subscribers, who currently pay a little more than $80 per month for the base plan, should see channels and previously recorded programs return over the course of the day. The companies said the full technical rollout will be finished by the end of 2026.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube TV has about 10 million subscribers and will again carry all Disney channels, including ABC and every ESPN network, after the blackout that began Oct. 30.
- The agreement adds ESPN’s direct-to-consumer “Unlimited” service to YouTube TV’s base plan at no extra charge; Unlimited includes major WWE events and WrestleMania.
- Subscribers pay just over $80 per month for the base YouTube TV plan; Google offered affected customers a $20 credit during the outage.
- Disney and YouTube TV said recordings in subscribers’ libraries will be restored as channels return during the day.
- High-level executives from both companies, including Sundar Pichai and Bob Iger, reportedly became involved as talks intensified in the final days.
- Negotiations had focused in part on how to treat lower-viewership Disney networks such as Freeform and National Geographic, but all Disney channels remain included under the new deal.
- The parties expect the restored carriage to arrive in time for college football and other weekend sports programming.
Background
The blackout began Oct. 30 when distribution rights between YouTube TV and Disney lapsed, depriving subscribers of ESPN’s college football slate and “Monday Night Football” across two weekends and multiple prime-time nights. Live sports have been central to YouTube TV’s growth since its 2018 launch, helping it build a 10 million-subscriber base and positioning the service as a close competitor to traditional MVPDs such as Spectrum and Comcast, each of which report roughly 12 million subscribers.
Carriage disputes between programmers and virtual MVPDs are common, typically centering on retransmission fees, packaging, and the treatment of smaller channels. Disney has reorganized its distribution strategy in recent years to push direct-to-consumer options, and ESPN’s Unlimited tier is a manifestation of that shift. YouTube TV began as a $35-per-month product in 2018 and has raised pricing over time to reflect added programming and higher rights costs.
Main Event
Late Friday, both companies announced a settlement that returns Disney’s channels to YouTube TV and includes ESPN Unlimited in the platform’s base plan. YouTube TV’s public statement apologized for the disruption, confirmed the channels’ return and said subscribers should regain access to prior recordings as the restoration completes. Disney executives framed the deal as preserving the value of Disney programming while giving viewers more flexibility.
Negotiators had been trading offers earlier in the week, with a flurry of activity around Disney’s quarterly earnings call that Monday and subsequent analyst sessions. Reports indicated renewed momentum starting Wednesday, and sources said substantive progress was reached Wednesday night though the final signatures came later. Insiders told reporters that YouTube TV’s negotiation team and Disney’s Entertainment co-chairs, Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, along with ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro, were central to the dealmaking.
The talks attracted executive attention as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Disney CEO Bob Iger reportedly stepped in to clear obstacles. YouTube TV’s global head of media and sports, Justin Connolly, recused himself from negotiations because of prior employment and legal agreements with Disney after moving from Disney to YouTube TV earlier in the year; his team continued the discussions while Connolly sat out. Separately, YouTube TV had offered subscribers a $20 credit for the outage, which it communicated via email to affected customers.
Analysis & Implications
For YouTube TV, restoring ESPN and bundling ESPN Unlimited strengthens the product’s live-sports proposition and reduces churn risk among fans who use the service primarily for sports. Live sports remain the principal driver of subscription TV value; losing access to marquee events—college football and Monday Night Football—posed a serious retention threat. The inclusion of Unlimited may also be a defensive move to keep fans from migrating to other direct-to-consumer services or returning to traditional cable bundles.
For Disney, the agreement preserves carriage revenue and ensures broad reach for ESPN and other networks during a high-stakes sports season. While Disney has invested heavily in direct-to-consumer distribution, maintaining wide availability on MVPD-like platforms such as YouTube TV helps preserve advertising impressions and linear-subscriber economics. The deal also signals that Disney can negotiate terms that protect the perceived value of its content while experimenting with alternative packaging like Unlimited.
Industrywide, the settlement highlights the bargaining leverage that rising streaming MVPDs now wield. YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers and trajectory toward parity with large traditional providers make it a critical distribution partner. At the same time, programmers retain leverage because of scarce live-sports inventory. Expect future deals to include hybrid concessions: enhanced DTC access bundled into MVPD packages, carry-through rights for recordings, and staged technical rollouts tied to commercial terms.
Comparison & Data
| Service | Approx. Subscribers | Base Price (launch → today) |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV | ~10,000,000 | $35 (2018) → a little over $80 (2025) |
| Spectrum | ~12,000,000 | Varies by bundle |
| Comcast | ~12,000,000 | Varies by bundle |
The table highlights YouTube TV’s rapid subscriber growth since 2018 and its current position just below major cable operators. The price column reflects the platform’s path from a low introductory price to a higher base driven by rights costs and added channels; exact bundle pricing for traditional MVPDs varies by market and package.
Reactions & Quotes
Both companies issued public statements; below are short excerpts with context.
We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers.
YouTube TV statement
In its statement YouTube TV emphasized restoration of service, the return of recorded programs, and an apology for the disruption while framing the deal as preserving subscriber value.
This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch.
Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman; ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro
Disney’s senior executives framed the deal as balancing the company’s programming value with consumer choice, noting the timing ahead of key sports weekends.
Google and Disney need to get a deal done and end this blackout. People should have the right to watch the programming they paid for — including football.
Brendan Carr, FCC chairman (social post)
The FCC chairman publicly urged settlement, emphasizing consumer access to paid programming and the political visibility these disputes can attract during major sports events.
Unconfirmed
- The precise financial terms and fee structure of the agreement between Disney and YouTube TV have not been disclosed publicly.
- The detailed timetable and technical steps for the full rollout of ESPN Unlimited across all devices and markets remain unspecified beyond the end-of-2026 target.
- The exact degree of direct intervention by CEOs Sundar Pichai and Bob Iger has been reported by sources but not confirmed in official statements.
Bottom Line
The settlement restores a crucial pipeline for live sports and entertainment to roughly 10 million YouTube TV subscribers while giving Disney a distribution path that preserves both linear reach and a foothold for its DTC product, ESPN Unlimited. For subscribers, the immediate benefit is restored access to games and previously recorded content and the inclusion of Unlimited without added cost to the base plan.
For the industry, the deal is instructive: future carriage agreements will likely blend linear carriage with DTC concessions, and both sides will use executive-level involvement when high-value sports inventory is at stake. Observers should watch whether other distributors secure similar DTC bundling terms and how advertisers and rights holders respond to the evolving packaging of live sports.
Sources
- The New York Times (republication of The Athletic reporting) — News/Reporting