YouTube TV removed all Disney-Owned channels for a day
After YouTube and Disney fought on Friday, which resulted in channels owned by Disney such as ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Freeform, National Geographic, and more disappearing from Google’s YouTube TV, they announced they reached a new deal on Sunday.
YouTube said it had already started to restore access to Disney-owned networks like ESPN and FX and was reinstating subscriber recordings from the networks to their libraries. YouTube noted that subscribers’ personal preferences and recommendations were not affected by the disruption and remain as they were on Friday.
The dispute came at an essential time for sports fans with the final weeks of the NFL regular season coming and the start of the playoffs, along with college bowls and the playoffs.
As such, the reason for the dispute was that YouTube wanted Disney to “treat YouTube TV like any other TV provider” and offer it the same rates that services of a similar size pay, while Disney wished to reach a “fair, market-based agreement.”
In a statement to The Streamable, Disney said: “We are pleased to announce that after a brief disruption, we have reached a new distribution agreement with Google’s YouTube TV for continued carriage of our portfolio of networks.”
“We appreciate Google’s collaboration to reach fair terms that are consistent with the market, and we’re thrilled that our robust lineup of live sports and news plus kids, family, and general entertainment programming is in the process of being restored to YouTube TV subscribers across the country,” it stressed.
Meanwhile, YouTube announced that it would be honoring the $15 one-time discount it told for base plan subscribers when they lost access to Disney-owned networks, even if it was just for a little more than a day.
Subscribers will automatically receive a $15 credit on their next bill and do not need to take any action.
YouTube did not mention any details about the terms of the deal. “We apologize for the disruption and appreciate your patience as we continued to negotiate on your behalf,” YouTube said. “We also value Disney’s partnership and willingness to work towards an agreement.”
Last but not least, while YouTube solved with Disney, subscribers took the hit, having a hard time finding their channels, as Disney said.
“Some subscribers might have trouble finding Disney content in their customized live guides. In this case, YouTube advises affected users to search and add their favorite Disney channels back to the directory. Not all local ABC News stations are back up yet, although YouTube says it’s working on it and that they should be accessible soon.