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Disney networks, including ABC and ESPN, could be pulled from YouTube TV if the two major streaming platforms can’t reach a new distribution agreement. The current agreement between the two companies is set to expire Thursday at midnight, and, unless a new deal is reached, customers will lose access to college and professional sports, mainstay news shows and bingeable TV series. Disney says YouTube parent company, Google, is “exploiting its position at the expense of their own customers.” “If we don’t reach a fair deal soon, YouTube TV customers will lose access to ESPN and ABC, and all our marquee programming — including the NFL, college football, NBC and NHL seasons — and so much more,” a Disney spokesperson told CNBC. YouTube, which has about 10 million subscribers, accused Disney of “proposing costly economic terms,” that would raise prices and create fewer options for customers, “while benefiting Disney’s own live products – like Hulu + Live TV and, soon, Fubu.” The dispute has prompted Disney to run public messages on YouTube TV warning subscribers that the networks will go dark Friday if a deal is not met. The Independent has reached out to Disney and Google, YouTube TV’s parent company, for comment. YouTube TV has gone through at least five carriage disputes just this year, according to Forbes. Such disputes are common and occasionally lead to short-term channel disruptions. Distributors, like YouTube TV, hope to lock in long-term deals with programmers so they know what their costs will be for several years to come. YouTube TV, however, has sought shorter deals in a move programmers say is them trying to gain the upper hand in negotiations as their market expands. Even still, Disney and other programmers say their content is what makes YouTube TV valuable to customers, and therefore, they should be paid properly. “We invest significantly in our content and expect our partners to pay fair rates that recognize that value,” Disney said in a statement. This year alone, YouTube TV has feuded with Paramount, Fox, NBCUniversal, TelevisaUnivision and Disney. While the spats with Paramount, Fox and NBCUniversal were resolved ahead of the carriage deadline, the dispute with TelevisaUnivision resulted in the Spanish-language platform going dark on YouTube TV on September 30. A deal still has not been met with TelevisaUnivision, which YouTube TV proposed cutting from its basic programming and instead offering on a more expensive, specialty tier, according to the Wall Street Journal. TelevisaUnivision argued that it would amount to a “Hispanic tax” and said the proposed change would be unfair to a channel that serves a fast-growing audience. President Donald Trump even urged YouTube TV to restore TelevisaUnivision, which has been off the platform for a month, per the Journal. “I hope Univision, a great and very popular Hispanic Network, can get BACK onto the very amazing Google/YouTube,” the president wrote this month on Truth Social. “It has been taken out of their package, which is VERY BAD for Republicans in the upcoming Midterms.” YouTube TV, which offers a base plan at $82.99 a month, is one of the most popular alternatives to cable and currently has about 10 million subscribers — though the number will likely continue to grow.
