Disney Has Pulled Its Channels From YouTube TV

Earlier this week YouTube and Disney both warned YouTube TV subscribers that they could lose access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and FX, starting October 31. This probably isn't the Halloween treat you were looking for, but now that the end of the month has arrived, that's exactly what has happened: Right now, more than 20 Disney channels have gone dark on YouTube TV.

Why did Disney remove its channels from YouTube TV?

Not to be confused with YouTube Premium. YouTube TV is Google's Live TV service, a kind of cable TV without a cable box. So it has to pay content providers like Disney to offer its channels, which sometimes means there are disputes over how high those fees should be. While neither company has provided specific numbers, the gist seems to be that Disney wants to raise its fees and Google doesn't want to pay.

Walking the tightrope is hard. As for Disney, the company said Diversity that it appeared to charge “fair prices” and accused YouTube of potentially depriving its paying customers of channels they should rightfully be able to watch without playing ball. As for YouTube, then the company claimed that paying Disney's new tariffs would force the company to “raise prices on YouTube TV.”

Add to this that Disney has its own Live TV service. Hulu + Liveand there's potential anti-competitiveness, which Google was happy to point out when it noted that the proposed fee increases “directly harm our subscribers while benefiting them.” [Disney's] own live TV products.”

Which Disney channels have been removed from YouTube TV?

This isn't the first time YouTube TV has had to negotiate royalties with content providers, and it has managed to avoid losing access to channels from companies like Paramount, Fox CompanyAnd NBC Universal in the past. But since negotiations with Disney fell through, this is one of the biggest losses of content that YouTube TV subscribers have had to deal with in recent years. The full list of channels pulled from the service includes:

• ABC

• ESPN

• ESPN2

• ESPNU

• ESPNews

• Disney Channel

• Disney Junior

• Disney XD

• Free form

• Forex

• FXX

• FXM

• Shopping center network

• Nat Geo

• Nat Geo Wild

• ABC News Live

• ACC network

• local

Additionally, if you are using a Spanish YouTube TV plan, you will also lose access to the following channels:

• ESPN Sports

• Children's television in Spanish

• Nat Geo Mundo

When will Disney Channels return to YouTube TV?

If there's a silver lining, it's that the loss of Disney channels on YouTube TV probably isn't permanent. A similar power outage happened in 2021 for the same reasons and lasted less than a week.

However, an exact timeline for the restoration of Disney content on YouTube TV is not yet available. In an update to its initial warning, YouTube said Disney is “now making good on its threat” and that “we continue to encourage Disney to work constructively with us to reach a fair agreement that restores their YouTube TV networks.” As before, the platform also promised subscribers a $20 credit if Disney content “stays unplugged from YouTube TV for an extended period of time,” although it's currently unclear how long an “extended period of time” actually is. It is noteworthy that $20 is enough for a monthly subscription Disney+, Hulu and ESPN bundle with advertising.

On Disney's side, a banner at the top of the Disney+ Help Center is currently pointing out users confused about losing access to the company's channels on a site called keepmynetworks.comwhich offers other ways to access Disney TV content and encourages dissatisfied customers to contact YouTube directly, as well as post outages on social media.

Other Live TV services offering Disney Channels.

While YouTube TV has lost access to Disney content for now, other services continue to offer it, including Disney's own. Hulu + Live. However, while Hulu+ Live TV is cheaper than YouTube TV for the first three months ($64.99 vs. $72.99), it becomes more expensive afterward ($89.99 vs. $82.99).

Since disabling content is likely to be temporary, a potential short-term solution could be Plan Sling Orangewhich offers day passes for $5 each and provides access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN4K, Freeform and Disney Channel.