Jump for joy! The deal has been reached.
Photo: Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images
To quote Homer Simpson, woohoo! Our corporate overlords are finally getting along. Disney and YouTube TV have squashed their grievances by signing a deal to bring all your favorite ESPN, ABC and Disney properties back to the YouTube streamer. Disney Entertainment co-chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro praised the deal in a joint statement obtained by Hollywood Reporter. “We are pleased that our networks were restored in time for fans to enjoy many great programs this weekend, including college football,” they wrote. “Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their services throughout the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their library,” a YouTube spokesperson said Friday evening. “We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers' patience as we negotiated on their behalf.”
Disney channels, including ABC, ESPN, Freeform and FX, went dark on YouTube TV on October 30th. It was the longest shipping dispute in recent memory, far surpassing the Charter Communications spat in 2023. It lasted only 11 days. Reports showed that the dispute was particularly bitter as CEOs Bob Iger (Disney) and Sundar Pichai (Google) were allegedly brought in to speed up the process. Times like these are thirsty old school antenna.
