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The carriage fight between Google’s YouTube TV and Disney has moved into a new phase. For over a week, ABC and ESPN have remained off YouTube TV for nearly 10 million subscribers, with analysts estimating Disney’s losses at $4.3 million per day—around $30 million weekly—as negotiations drag on ahead of Thursday’s quarterly earnings call. A notable development emerged on Wednesday, however, with Awful Announcing reporting that YouTube TV and Disney are aligned on the price for ESPN, widely regarded as the primary sticking point, but that the real issue now is ABC’s price and carriage terms. In recent years, Disney has shifted more live sports, once exclusive to ESPN, onto ABC, most notably "Monday Night Football." Disney argues the expanded sports slate warrants higher distributor fees, but operators push back, saying they’re being billed twice for the same content since they already pay premium rates for ESPN. The report notes YouTube TV isn’t seeking immediate discounts, but instead wants contractual assurances of lower rates once it overtakes three rival distributors in subscribers, a move that could compel Disney to adjust pricing industry-wide. Read More: Jaguars Rookie Travis Hunter Hit With Devastating Injury Setback Read More: Browns Reveal Deshaun Watson News Impacting Shedeur Sanders’ Immediate Future The dispute began when a long-running retransmission agreement expired at the end of October and negotiations collapsed. Disney pulled its linear networks (ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels) from YouTube TV; YouTube TV immediately accused Disney of seeking higher-than-market fees and began offering affected subscribers a one-time $20 credit to soften the blow. Disney says Google is refusing fair, market rates, and both companies continue talks while publicly trading blame. YouTube TV recently crossed the 10-million subscriber threshold, which gives Google leverage and pressures older distributors reliant on most-favored-nation (MFN) deal structures. Disney is reportedly preparing to address the situation, including the financial hit and ongoing negotiations, during its fiscal Q4 earnings webcast, set for 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. Ultimately, this dispute goes far beyond a single blackout. It’s a battle over power in modern pay TV, with YouTube TV pushing for growth-based discounts as it expands past traditional distributors, while Disney aims to protect long-standing rate structures and ad models. With talks still ongoing ahead of Disney’s earnings call—and the company losing millions daily as sports fans remain without access—the outcome could reshape how major networks and digital distributors do business going forward.
