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. It’s probably not the Halloween gift you were looking for, but now that the end of the month is here, that’s exactly what’s 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 bit like cable without the set-top box. As such, it has to pay fees to content providers like Disney to carry their channels, which sometimes means disputes arise over how much those fees should be. While neither company has given any information on specific numbers, the bottom line seems to be that Disney wants to raise its fees and Google doesn’t want to pay.

It’s a difficult tightrope to walk. On Disney’s side, the company told Variety that it felt like it was charging “fair rates” and accused YouTube of potentially depriving its paying customers of channels they should legitimately be able to watch while not playing ball. On YouTube’s side, the company argued that paying Disney’s new rates would force it to “raise prices on YouTube TV.”

Add to that that Disney has its own live TV service, Hulu + Live TV, and there’s also a potential anti-competitive angle at play, which Google was happy to point out, noting that the proposed fee increase “directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their subscribers.” [Disney’s] own live television products.

Which Disney channels have been removed from YouTube TV?

This isn’t the first time YouTube TV has had to negotiate fees with content providers, and it was able to avoid losing access to channels like Paramount, Fox Corp. and NBC Universal in the past. But with negotiations with Disney failing, this is one of the biggest content losses YouTube TV subscribers have faced in years. The full list of channels pulled from the service includes:

• ABC

• ESPN

• ESPN2

• ESPNU

• ESPNews

• Disney Channel

• Disney Junior

• Disney XD

• Free form

• Effects

• FXX

• FXM

• SEC Network

• Nat Geo

• Nat Géo Sauvage

• ABC News Live

• ACC Network

• Localist

Additionally, if you are using the Spanish YouTube TV plan, you have also lost access to the following channels:

• ESPN kicks out

• Spanish Baby TV

• 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 likely isn’t permanent. A similar outage occurred in 2021, for similar reasons, and lasted less than a week.

That said, a direct timeline for when Disney content will be restored to YouTube TV is not yet available. In an update to its initial warning, YouTube said that Disney is now “making good on its threat” and that “we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV.” As before, the platform also promised subscribers a $20 credit if Disney content “remains off YouTube TV for an extended period of time,” although it’s unclear how long an “extended period” actually is. Notably, $20 is enough to subscribe to a month of the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN package with ads.

On Disney’s side, a banner at the top of the Disney+ Help Center currently directs users confused about the loss of access to the company’s channels to a site called keepmynetworks.com, which suggests other ways to access Disney TV content and urges unhappy customers to contact YouTube directly, as well as post about the outage on social media.

Other live TV services offering Disney channels

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

Since the content blackout is likely temporary, a potential short-term solution could be the Sling Orange plan, which offers day passes for $5 apiece and provides access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN4K, Freeform and Disney Channel.