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The 2025 season has been an odd year for the college football world. The latest developing drama of the week is between Disney and YouTube. The feud between the two media giants has college football fans furious, especially after YouTube TV attempted to finesse its viewers. The current issues between Disney and YouTube are the result of a contract dispute over how much YouTube’s parent company, Google, has to pay Disney to carry its channels. The old contract expired on October 30, 2025, and since both sides failed to reach a new deal, YouTube TV removed all Disney-owned channels, including major ones like ESPN and ABC. As a result, for the past couple of weeks, YouTube TV subscribers haven’t been able to watch college football games aired on those networks. This whole situation is a big headache for college football fans who subscribe to YouTube TV, especially since ESPN and ABC networks carry a ton of games. It’s not just the main ESPN channel, either—all the Disney-owned sports channels like the SEC Network and ACC Network are also blacked out. The dispute has continued to drag on, and both companies seem to be standing their ground over the financial details, leaving customers in the middle. Both Disney and Google are playing hardball. Disney feels that YouTube TV, which has a huge number of subscribers, should pay more for access to its content, especially since they’ve invested so much in media rights. On the other hand, Google argues that Disney is asking for too much money and that accepting their terms would force YouTube TV to raise prices for its customers. To try and make things right with upset customers, YouTube TV has started offering a $20 credit: “Members: We’ve been working to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content and returns their programming to YouTube TV. We know it’s been disappointing to lose Disney channels, and in light of the disruption, we’re offering our subscribers a $20 credit.” Truth is, that doesn’t help anyone. So what does this mean for college football in the long run? It’s part of a larger trend where the way we watch sports is changing, with more networks and conferences signing massive, and often exclusive, deals. YouTube TV customers who want to watch games on ESPN or ABC have had to find other ways to tune in, like switching to a different streaming service or using the official ESPN app. Until Disney and Google can finally agree on a new contract, the blackout will continue, and fans will have to deal with the fallout. And that $20 refund from YouTube feels like straight-up insult to college football fans after everything they put them through. College football fans called out YouTube TV for their insanity and greed. When YouTube TV posted that message on X, it was only a matter of time before college football fans pulled up demanding justice. The fans started with, “Should be a $20 refund (for missing what I already paid for) rather than a credit.” This fan believes the $20 should be a direct refund for the service they already paid for but didn’t receive. They feel a credit toward a future bill isn’t a fair exchange for the missed content, including key sports networks like ESPN. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports One fan questioned YouTube’s $20 strategy: “A one time credit won’t suffice for a lot of people unless you get those channels back on the air. If you can’t get them back on the air, you’re gonna lose a lot of customers and the ones who choose to keep subscriptions, you should drop their bills.” They believe a one-time credit won’t be enough to retain customers if the blackout continues. The solution? Restore the channels immediately — or reduce the monthly cost for those who stay. Another fan rejected their money: “I don’t want a credit. I want football in the middle of football season. C’mon man 😡” Nothing makes up for losing the crucial part of the season. One fan commented, “Making people claim instead of auto refunding when a significant piece of the product is now missing is sooo slimy. I understand the espn deal and working on it but this move here makes me want to cancel.” They argue YouTube TV is using a tactic that relies on customers forgetting to claim it rather than automatically issuing it. And the last fan said, “This is the problem. Instructions to redeem a $20 credit is ridiculous. What you should be doing is crediting ALL of your customers $20 plus some. By doing this you are hoping that some will forget or just flat out not do it. Even more greed. Pathetic.” Fair enough, he basically accused YouTube TV of manipulating the situation to avoid paying everyone. Very interesting to see how this story ends.
