Copyright Men's Journal
The ongoing contract dispute between YouTube TV and Disney continues to last, and that means millions of football fans will lose access to one of the biggest games of the week. The Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys are set to meet on Monday Night Football, and YouTube TV customers will not be able to watch. “Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV. This means you will no longer be able to watch channels like ABC and ESPN or access recordings from these networks in your Library,” YouTube TV said on Friday, upsetting many customers who rely on the service for sports viewing. YouTube TV Customers React to the Dispute Fans had to resort to other means – traveling to friends’ homes or bars, watching other streaming services – to watch college football games on ESPN and ABC networks over the weekend. College football viewers missed out on huge games like Georgia-Florida, Vanderbilt-Texas, and Oklahoma-Tennessee, and they weren’t happy on social media. “I literally only watch YouTube TV for live sports,” one fan said. “there are millions of people who only subscribe to YouTube TV because of sports coverage like ESPN. This will be my last month,” another fan said. “If I miss ABC college football Saturday or ESPN football Monday I’ll be looking to move to a different cable service,” yet another fan noted. No end to the dispute is in sight as of Monday afternoon, and the lack of access comes at busy time in the sports year. Fans Could Miss More Major Events Next week’s “Monday Night Football” game is a massive NFC matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, and there are also huge college football games set to air on ESPN and ABC. ESPN and ABC will air Alabama-LSU, Texas A&M-Missouri and a top-ten matchup between BYU and Texas Tech next week – massive games on the college football calendar. ESPN also holds American broadcast rights to Formula 1, UFC and other sports like the NBA. If the dispute isn’t resolved before Wednesday night, fans will miss out on Knicks-Timberwolves and Lakers-Spurs in an early-season doubleheader. ESPN is asking users to request an end to the dispute by protesting on social media, putting pressure on YouTube TV to give in to their contract demands. “We urge YouTube TV to work with us on a fair resolution and minimize the disruption to their customers,” Disney says. As the dispute continues, millions of fans around the country will now look for another way to watch their favorite teams and players.
