After a similar impasse with NBCUniversal earlier this year, YouTube TV now finds itself at odds with Disney and it could mean channels including ESPN go dark on the service.
The virtual MVPD began warning subscribers on Monday that it’s currently negotiating with Disney but if it’s unable to reach a fair deal by December 17, channels including ESPN and local ABC stations will leave the platform. YouTube TV promised to decrease its monthly price by $15 while content is off the platform, which would take the cost down to $50 per month.
“We always want to be transparent and give you a heads-up during these active conversations. Disney is an important partner, and we’re optimistic that we can work with Disney and keep their content available on YouTube TV,” the company tweeted.
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As of now, YouTube TV’s impasse is playing out in much the same way it did with NBCUniversal. Those companies traded some strong words before agreeing to an extension to avoid a channel blackout and finally reaching a new long-term deal. During negotiations with NBCU, YouTube TV also promised to lower its price if no new agreement could be reached.
YouTube TV’s latest dustup with a programmer comes just one week after it settled a lengthy dispute with Roku which threatened to make YouTube and YouTube TV unavailable on new Roku devices sold after December 9.
“Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV. This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform,” said a Roku spokesperson.
Google has not provided a subscriber update for YouTube TV since earlier this year but analyst estimates put the service at around 4 million subscribers.