YouTube TV Drops More Than 20 Disney Channels

On Oct. 30, 2025, YouTube TV dropped more than 20 Disney-owned channels — including ABC and the family of ESPN networks — after the companies failed to reach a renewed carriage deal, leaving about 10 million subscribers without those channels. Google says Disney proposed costly economic terms that would raise subscriber prices and advantage Disney’s own services, while Disney accuses Google of using market dominance to undercut standard distributor terms; both sides continue to publicly press their cases. The blackout had immediate sports consequences: viewers missed college football over the weekend and faced losing access to Monday Night Football (Cardinals vs. Cowboys), and ESPN urged fans to seek alternatives. Workarounds include local over-the-air antennas for ABC where available and paid options such as Fubo, DirecTV and ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer ESPN Unlimited, with some services offering free trials. YouTube TV has started offering bill relief — reported as an opt-in $10/month credit for six months for some users (total $60) while its help center references a possible one-time $20 credit if the dispute is prolonged — but customers and analysts say credits and short trials don’t fully compensate for the lost channels.