Disney, YouTube
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Disney and YouTube TV reached a deal after a long blackout, but sports fans may miss out if more carriage disputes pop up next year.
Disney contract dispute ended on Nov. 14 after ESPN and other networks were blacked out on the streaming platform starting Oct. 30.
In addition to bringing Disney networks like ABC, ESPN, and FX back to YouTube’s streaming TV service, the deal will also see ESPN make its new direct-to-consumer service available on YouTube TV at no additional price. YouTube will also be able to sell select Disney networks and the Disney+/Hulu bundle as part of different packages.
ESPN announced a notable decision regarding its college football pregame show after making a deal with YouTube TV.
YouTube TV claimed Disney was threatening a blackout just to force a massive price hike onto all of us. Then Disney fired back, accusing YouTube TV of trying to use its huge size to get a special, cheap deal that no one else gets.
If you don't have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch tonight's game on ABC and ESPN or the ManningCast on ESPN2 with a live TV streaming service as long as it's not YouTube TV, whose ongoing dispute with Disney has led to ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned channels being pulled from the service.
The biggest winner of a now-resolved battle between two consumer and tech giants is a small $1.2 billion start-up.