Copyright Newsweek
Disney and Google's prolonged standoff continues to cost YouTube TV customers a chance to see high profile sporting events across ABC and ESPN. On Oct. 30, YouTube TV sent a message to its customers revealing the company's decision to pull ABC and ESPN off the platform after the two sides couldn't agree to a new deal. YouTube TV claimed it "will not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products." Football fans missed a full weekend of college football action across ABC and ESPN, which sparked fury amongst customers. The standoff continued on Monday, Nov. 3 as a Monday Night Football game between the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys was unavailable for YouTube TV customers. Sports Media: ESPN Makes Final Plea to YouTube TV Customers Amid ‘Monday Night Football’ NFL News: NFL Forced Al Michaels to Make Correction During Chargers-Vikings Game With the standoff now impacting NFL games, ESPN personality Pat McAfee called out his own network with a strong message. “We’re all done with it,” McAfee said of the dispute. “And also, if you’re on TV, stop telling people to go to a website to save a multi-billion-dollar deal. Nobody cares what you have to say. There will be nothing that we have to say or any website that will be visited. There are, I don’t want to say the exact names, but these people (hands up high), let’s put our swords down. Let’s put our swords down for the good of sports." He called for the two companies to come to a deal. “We need each other. A lot of people saying ‘greedy corporations,’ it’s like, yeah. We need each other, especially with where sports are right now. And we’re in the middle of it, so let’s get it done. And stop asking me to go to a website. I don’t want to do that, so stop … all you’re doing is pissing everybody off even more. So it’s like, let’s just not do that," he said. YouTube TV offered a $20 discount to customers in the event the outage continues for "an extended period of time."
