YouTube TV Loses ESPN And Other Disney-Owned Channels After Renewal Talks Collapse

Disney has suspended its channels from YouTube TV, including ESPN, after the two companies failed to reach a new distribution deal by 11:59 p.m. ET on Oct. 30, 2025.

YouTube TV announced the news in a blog post just over three hours before the deadline. The company said it had been negotiating with Disney “in good faith,” but accused the media giant of using “the threat of a blackout” to push for higher prices.

Disney is “now following through on that threat,” YouTube TV wrote, calling the move to suspend their content one that “directly harms” subscribers while benefiting Disney’s own live TV offerings, such as Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

YouTube TV, whose parent company is Google, said it will offer subscribers a $20 credit if Disney’s channels remain unavailable for an extended period.

On Oct. 23, YouTube TV said in its blog that Disney had proposed “costly economic terms that would raise prices on YouTube TV customers and give our customers fewer choices.”

“With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.

According to USA Today, the suspended Disney-owned channels include ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, Localish, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, and SEC Network.

In YouTube TV’s Spanish-language plan, ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español, and Nat Geo Mundo are also affected.

“We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers, and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV,” YouTube TV wrote in its blog post.

The dispute follows contract clashes between Google and other major media companies, including Fox in August and NBCUniversal earlier this month, per USA Today. Both networks argued that Google resisted realistic renewal rates and terms, though each ultimately reached a deal.

Blackout Comes As Disney Reshapes Its Streaming Platforms

Hulu content began rolling out on Disney+ in late 2023, and in August 2025, Disney confirmed it would fully merge the platforms by 2026 to create a broader streaming service. The standalone Hulu app will shut down by the end of next year.

“We are building on Disney’s value proposition in streaming by combining Hulu into Disney+ to create a unified app experience featuring branded and general entertainment, news, and sports that will be a one-of-a-kind entertainment destination for subscribers,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement regarding the merger.

The move coincides with the merger of Hulu + Live TV and Fubo TV, which closed on Oct. 29. According to a news release, the combined service now ranks as the sixth-largest pay-TV provider in the U.S., with nearly 6 million subscribers across North America.