Disney and YouTube TV’s 12-Day Feud: Disney+ Drama Interrupted
For nearly two weeks starting October 30th, Disney's linear channels – yes, ABC, ESPN, Freeform, and FX – went dark on YouTube TV amid a corporate food fight over who pays what to watch college football and Monday Night Football. Disney execs, led by Alan Bergman, Dana Walden, and ESPN's Jimmy Pitaro, put out a joint statement boasting about delivering 'exceptional entertainment' and acting like you’d instantly lose your life without their channels for 12 agonizing days. YouTube TV responded Friday night, promising that not only would channels return but also your previously recorded episodes — because apparently, negotiating in 2023 now includes swapping recorded memories like baseball cards. The blackout rivaled Disney’s 2023 showdown with Charter Communications except this blackout lasted more days than a Game of Thrones character survived. Things got so tense top dogs like Disney CEO Bob Iger and Google CEO Sundar Pichai had to be roped in, because what's a prize fight without CEOs throwing punches? Disney accused YouTube and Google of playing monopoly and undermining the content that made YouTube TV worthwhile. Money was the sticking point, tangled in Most Favored Nation clauses and how the rates should adjust if YouTube TV surpasses Comcast — you know, normal cable channel drama only the rich can afford. Now ESPN Unlimited content and Disney+ plus Hulu bundles will come as a consolation prize for everyone who lost their Monday night picks.
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Disney and YouTube TV turned a simple channel contract into a 12-day hostage crisis starring CEOs and Monday Night Football casualties. It's the cable feud millennials forgot to stream.
Disney and YouTube TV’s blackout was corporate cold war fan-fiction, featuring CEOs like guest stars nobody asked for.
Imagine paying for TV and getting a two-week social experiment in patience—courtesy of Disney’s latest blackout saga.
Source: Hollywoodreporter.com | Published: 11/15/2025 | Author: Unknown