UPDATE: In November 2022 a group of YouTube TV subscribers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company, alleging Disney has used anticompetitive measures to hike prices for virtual MVPDs. Read more here.
UPDATE: YouTube TV and Disney have reached a new carriage deal and YouTube TV has begun restoring Disney channels including ESPN to its service. The virtual MVPD said it will still give subscribers a one-time $15 credit.
"We apologize for the disruption and appreciate your patience as we continued to negotiate on your behalf. We also value Disney's partnership and willingness to work towards an agreement," the company wrote.
YouTube TV and Disney were unable to reach a new carriage agreement before their current deal expired Friday and the result is ESPN, ABC and other channels disappearing from the streaming service.
Besides ESPN and ABC, subscribers are also losing ABC News Live, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FX, FXX, FXM, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 (by authentication to the ESPN app), ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network and ACC Network.
Google warned about the possible channel blackout on Monday and said that it would reduce its monthly price by $15, from $64.99 to $9.99, while Disney’s content remains off the platform. The company said that YouTube TV subscribers will have a $15 credit applied to their next bills after December 17.
“We’ve held good faith negotiations with Disney for several months. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach an equitable agreement before our existing one expired, and their channels are no longer available on YouTube TV,” the company said in a statement. “We know this is frustrating news for our customers, and not what we wanted. We will continue conversations with Disney to advocate on your behalf in hopes of restoring their content on YouTube TV.”
RELATED: YouTube TV could lose ESPN amid standoff with Disney
YouTube TV is pointing its subscribers toward alternative ways to keep watching Disney’s content including The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99 per month.
Disney has accused YouTube TV of declining to reach a fair deal based on market terms and conditions.
“We stand ready to reach an equitable agreement with Google as quickly as possible in order to minimize the inconvenience to YouTube TV viewers by restoring our networks. We hope Google will join us in that effort,” the company said in a statement.
YouTube TV has more than four million subscribers based on analyst estimates and many of them took to Twitter to voice their frustration with the channel blackout and threaten to cancel YouTube TV in favor of a rival virtual MVPD. DirecTV Stream, fuboTV, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV (which is majority owned and controlled by Disney) all still offer some if not all of the channels that have been removed from YouTube TV.