ESPN & YouTube TV Break Up, But CEO Drama Brings Them Back

KEY POINTS

•Disney and YouTube reached an agreement to restore ESPN and over 20 Disney-owned channels after they disappeared for two weeks from YouTube TV.
•The dispute involved Google accusing Disney of price-gouging to boost Hulu and Fubo, while Disney claimed Google wanted special, cheap treatment.
•Google issued a $20 credit to YouTube TV subscribers during the blackout, which cost Disney more than $4 million a day in lost revenue.
•CEOs Bob Iger and Sundar Pichai personally intervened before the deal, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly urging the companies to quickly resolve the dispute.

In a binge-worthy saga of streaming soap operas, Disney yanked ESPN and 20+ channels off YouTube TV like a toddler stealing candy, accusing Google of lowballing pricing while Google snitched about Disney pushing Hulu & Fubo like a Netflix wannabe. The blackout cost Disney a staggering $4 million daily—almost enough to buy a small island or patch foot talent's egos. Google threw YouTube TV subscribers a $20 credit, basically a participation trophy for waiting. Before the truce, CEOs Bob Iger and Sundar Pichai made a surprise cameo, taking the negotiation heat hotter than an NFL Sunday. Even FCC Chair Brendan Carr begged them to 'get it done!' Because no one wants TV basketball without Basketball.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Disney kicked ESPN off YouTube TV like a hired breakup text, then Netflix-pushed Hulu like it’s the new cool kid. Meanwhile, Google’s $20 credit is just gaslighting you for the 'inconvenience.' CEO tag teams happened. Drama levels: peak Prime Time.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Disney and Google’s channel blackout was like watching two toddlers fight over a toy, but with millions lost and CEO guest stars disrupting the drama.

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