ESPN blackout on YouTube TV ends, as Disney and Alphabet strike deal

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Major sporting events will return to YouTube TV this weekend after Disney and Alphabet said Friday they had reached an agreement to stream content from ESPN, ABC, FX and National Geographic, among other channels, on the platform.

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Deal ends the dispute It began when negotiations to extend a contract to distribute Disney content on YouTube TV fell apart last month.

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This resulted in a blackout of popular college football, college basketball, NFL and NBA live streaming on YouTube TV, which began on October 31st. YouTube TV said the $20 credit it offered subscribers during the blackout can be claimed until Dec. 9.

The co-chairs of Disney Entertainment said in a statement that they were “pleased that our networks were restored in time for fans to enjoy a wealth of great programming this weekend, including college football.” YouTube TV, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, said it is pleased to announce that it has “reached an agreement with Disney to return their content to YouTube TV.”

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The dollar amount was not disclosed by either side, but Disney said it is a multi-year agreement. As part of the deal, Disney said YouTube TV subscribers will get free access to the ESPN Unlimited plan, a service launched in August that provides access to all ESPN networks, as well as NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL games.

During the negotiations, both sides engaged in a public blame game, accusing each other of harming subscribers and seeking an unfair deal. Disney said Alphabet “used its market dominance to eliminate competition” and “repeatedly refused to negotiate in good faith.” Alphabet said Disney used “the threat of a YouTube TV shutdown as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices” for its customers even as it continued to stream content on its own platforms such as Hulu + Live TV.

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YouTube TV sought to challenge Disney's longtime practice of selling its content in bundles, The Washington Post previously reported, by seeking a less expensive deal that would give it only Disney's most popular content, such as ESPN or ABC, and the ability to sell ESPN as part of its own sports package.

The controversy has so angered sports fans that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr spoke out publicly. “Google and Disney need to make a deal and end this blackout,” he wrote on social media this week. “People should be able to watch the programs they paid for, including football.”

Disney shares rose slightly in after-hours trading after the deal was announced, recouping some of the losses they suffered this week following a mixed earnings report. Alphabet shares also rose, but the jump was likely fueled by a regulatory filing from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway on the same day that showed the company had acquired a $4.3 billion stake in the tech conglomerate earlier this year.

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