Copyright Athlon Sports
The standoff in contract negotiations between ESPN and YouTube TV has taken center stage in the sports world over the past week. On Oct. 30, the deal between Disney, which owns ESPN and many other networks, and Google, which owns YouTube TV, ended, causing all of Disney’s channels to be pulled from the streaming service. That means big-time networks like ABC, ESPN and SEC Network, among others, have been unavailable for YouTube TV users for over a week now. That includes the entire last weekend of sports, like “College GameDay” and a plethora of highly touted college football matchups on Saturday and the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football.” Because of the volume of sports coverage, including shows and games, that have been blacked out, fans have been on edge with the two media giants. With Week 11 of the college football season coming this weekend, YouTube TV users are in danger of losing a second straight weekend of sports coverage. With this being the case, a new development emerged on the current negotiations and where the two sides stand in getting a deal done before Saturday’s slate of college football games. On Friday, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote about the ongoing contract talks between Disney and Google. “The two sides are exchanging proposals, but remain far apart, according to sources briefed on the talks,” Marchand said. The update brings pessimism from fans worried that they will not be able to watch their favorite team play for a second consecutive weekend. Several of the top college football matchups that will be broadcast on Disney’s networks on Saturday include the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs taking on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the No. 7 BYU Cougars facing the No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders and the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies going up against the No. 22 Missouri Tigers. The “Monday Night Football” matchup is a big one. The Philadelphia Eagles visit the Green Bay Packers. As the battle continues, there is a real possibility that millions of YouTube TV users will again be forced to miss out on a phenomenal weekend of sports.
