This isn`t the first time this year that Google has found itself in a deadlock with a media company over distribution. In the fall, Google`s agreement with NBCUniversal`s cable networks and local NBC stations expired. The companies were able to quickly reach a new agreement. A similar disagreement with Roku over the terms of distribution of the YouTube and YouTube TV apps was settled this month. YouTube TV customers will regain access to Disney`s networks, which went dark on Friday after the companies announced On Sunday that they had reached a new transportation deal. Unfortunately, this was not resolved until the clients were affected. Hopefully, the breakdown will be short and an agreement can be reached soon. Google and Disney remain open to a „fair deal,” but there`s still a significant gap between what Disney charges for its channels and what Google considers a „fair deal with us based on market terms” to bring Disney`s own channels back to YouTube TV. Disney`s own channels went dark on the streaming service Friday night after YouTube said in a blog post that it had „not been able to reach a fair deal” with Disney before the existing contract expired. The two companies issued statements on Saturday that they were still working to negotiate a solution to the outage. Members who have not yet received their $15 discount on their monthly bill will have it applied to their next bill.
No action is required from members to receive the credit. If customers have decided to cancel due to the failure of negotiations, YouTube says they can return by visiting the site (tv.youtube.com/membership) and then clicking „Add” to reset the basic plan to their membership. Members who have suspended their membership will receive the credit one month after their initial charge, according to the company. Members who are in a state of pause will receive this credit one month after their first charge. (For more information, see a dedicated website.) YouTube TV said in a message to its subscribers: „We have been negotiating in good faith with Disney for several months. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were not able to reach a fair agreement before our current agreement expired. From 17. December 2021, by the end of the day, Eastern Time, all Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and your local ABC station, will no longer be available on YouTube TV.
YouTube has updated its blog post, in which it had kept customers informed of its contractual dispute, to indicate that it had reached a new agreement that will allow Disney to continue streaming its content on YouTube TV. This means that prices for YouTube TV customers will not fall to the lower price, as this was justified when it seemed that the channels would be removed. Instead, YouTube TV will continue at the usual price of $64.99 per month. More than three million YouTube TV subscribers no longer have access to several Disney-owned channels, including ABC and ESPN, as Google and Disney failed to reach an agreement before the Friday midnight deadline. The change took effect immediately and YouTube TV customers will no longer be able to watch programs on the following channels: ABC Local Stations, ABC News Live, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, SEC Network, ACC Network. Earlier this week, Disney had previously indicated that it was „optimistic” about the prospect of a settlement of the dispute over the promotion. But the parties said the talks did not result in an agreement and the networks disappeared from the package delivered over the internet at midnight ET. „We are pleased to announce that after a brief hiatus, we have entered into a new distribution agreement with Google`s YouTube TV for the onward transmission of our network portfolio,” Disney said in a statement. „We value Google`s collaboration to achieve fair and market-compliant terms, and we are excited to restore our strong offering of sports and live news, as well as children`s, family and general entertainment programs for YouTube TV subscribers across the country.” Last week, YouTube warned its customers that they could lose access to Disney-owned channels on its YouTube TV streaming service by the end of the week if the two companies fail to reach a new transportation deal. On Friday, negotiations broke down and YouTube TV warned its customers that it would have to remove Disney channels from its service and cut prices for customers. But over the weekend, things changed.
On Sunday, YouTube announced that a new deal had been reached, but that it would still offer customers a $15 credit for the disruption. The news follows an earlier announcement Friday night that the two had not reached an agreement before their contract expired, and users were informed that they would no longer have access to channels that included ESPN, Disney, FX and other Disney-owned properties. „We have been negotiating in good faith with Disney for several months,” the letter reads. „Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were not able to reach a fair agreement before our existing agreement expired.” YouTube TV and Disney struck a deal Sunday afternoon that will restore ESPN, ABC and many other channels to the streaming service. Several Disney-owned channels such as ESPN and ABC are no longer available on YouTube TV after Google and Disney failed to reach an agreement on Friday The live TV streaming service has made public information about another contractual dispute with one of its providers, and customers are feeling the pain again. YouTube TV said in a blog post last week that Disney had charged higher fees for its TV networks than for „similarly sized services” When their previous deal for Disney-owned networks expired at midnight ET on Dec. 17, Disney and Google still disagreed on transportation charges. This led to the removal of more than a dozen Disney cable networks and local ABC-owned channels from YouTube TV. Customers also lost access to DVR recordings of Disney programs with the power outage. If this scenario sounds familiar to you, it`s probably because YouTube TV has become accustomed to negotiating deals in public over the past few months. Note: YouTube TV and Disney entered into an agreement on December 19, 2021. You can read the full statement here.
In addition to the immediate impact of the loss of local news, popular dramas on the networks and Mickey Mouse cartoons, sports fans lose due to the timing of the removal of these channels. „You know how frustrating it is to lose channels like ESPN and your local ABC channel, and you`ll continue discussions with Disney in hopes of restoring their content for you,” YouTube TV said on Twitter on Sunday. YouTube TV subscribers don`t have access to ESPN and a number of popular TV channels. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In its own statement, Disney Media and Entertainment said in part, „We appreciate Google`s collaboration to achieve market-compatible level playing field.” The letter to subscribers says YouTube TV will reduce its price from $64.99 to $49.99 for the months when Disney channels are removed from service. If you`re worried about missing your favorite team game on ESPN this week, you might already be looking for „Plan B” because YouTube TV isn`t streaming the contest. YouTube TV and Disney have agreed to a new deal that will restore access to a number of the entertainment giant`s networks such as ESPN, ABC and FX. The news of the transport contract update comes Sunday afternoon, just days after negotiations between Disney and Google failed to bear fruit, sending Disney networks to sink on YouTube TV. A Disney spokesperson told The Washington Post on Saturday that Google was to blame for costing subscribers — access to our unparalleled portfolio of networks, including live sports and news. YouTube had also promised its members a $15 discount, while Disney content remained out of its platform due to the contract dispute. Although Disney`s program was only removed for one day, YouTube announced on Sunday that it would still honor a one-time credit for all affected members.
. No action on your part is required to receive this discount. YouTube TV surpassed 3 million subscribers in the fall of 2020, according to Google`s parent company, Alphabet. Some Wall Street analysts estimate that it now has more than 4 million, making it the largest TV package on the Internet. It is one of the top 10 pay-TV distributors of all kinds. All Disney-owned content, including ABC and ESPN, went dark on YouTube TV on Friday night after a breakdown in distribution negotiations between Disney and Google. On Sunday, YouTube TV said it had turned the lights back on. Television outages due to contractual disputes have become increasingly common. In 2020, there were a record 342 network power outages on pay-TV services compared to 278 in 2019, according to the American Television Alliance (ATVA), a trade group that represents cable, satellite and telecommunications TV providers. The good news is that cord cutters almost always have options. If you`re not tied to a long-term contract (as cable and satellite companies typically require), you can be flexible with issues like these. The standoff threatened to deal a severe blow to YouTube TV`s live sports offerings, including ESPN`s package of NBA, NHL and NCAA broadcasts and the NFL`s „Monday Night Football.” College football`s bowl season, much of which airs on ESPN, is underway.
The new agreement will continue to include Disney`s networks such as ESPN and FX, as well as Disney`s on-demand and live content. Customers who have recordings of Disney properties in their YouTube TV library will also see them restored. And YouTube TV noted that users will get their local ABC stations back up and running at the end of the day on Sunday. The restoration of the chains is of particular importance for sports enthusiasts. .