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Tried watching ESPN this week and got a blackout notice instead? You’re not alone. For millions of fans, the past two weeks of TV time have come with an unexpected blackout instead of their usual lineup of “College GameDay,” “Monday Night Football,” or even “Dancing with the Stars.” Instead, a blunt on-screen message showed up: “Disney channels are unavailable.” With both parties failing to come up with new contract negotiations, over 10 million subscribers lost their access to major games like Georgia, Auburn, and other big matchups. But if there’s one thing YouTube TV is known for, it’s customer loyalty. And you better believe they’re trying to make it up. In an effort to calm frustrations, YouTube TV began issuing $20 credits to its subscribers after the standoff stretched beyond the October 30 deadline. Sports business analyst Joe Pompliano shared an update on X, posting, “YouTube TV just sent out an email offering its subscribers a $20 credit due to the ongoing blackout with Disney.” With such a massive subscriber base, the total compensation could surpass $200 million. Well, loyalty doesn’t come cheap. The email sent to subscribers read, “We know it’s been disappointing to lose Disney content, and we want you to know we deeply appreciate your patience.” YouTube TV reiterated that negotiations are ongoing, saying, “We’ve been working in good faith to negotiate a deal with Disney that pays them fairly for their content and returns their programming to YouTube TV.” While the credit offers some relief, it’s a small comfort for fans who missed crucial games and major entertainment programming. The blackout has now stretched past a week, and with no new deal in sight, the tension between the two media giants is growing. In 2023, a similar dispute between Disney and Charter’s Spectrum was resolved just hours before Monday Night Football’s season debut. This time, however, the optimism has faded. As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to face the Green Bay Packers, networks like ABC, ESPN, and Disney Channel remain dark on YouTube TV. The breakdown centers around carriage fees. YouTube TV accuses Disney of demanding higher rates than what’s offered to other distributors and even its smaller streaming platforms. “Our team stands ready to make a fair agreement in line with their deals with other distributors, and we encourage Disney to come to the table and do what’s best for our mutual customers,” YouTube told Reuters. Disney’s leadership fired back, claiming YouTube TV is unwilling to meet fair market terms. “YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions,” said Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a joint statement. Public sentiment, however, seems to favor YouTube TV. In a survey by The Athletic, 64% of the people confirmed that they blame ESPN/Disney for the ongoing dispute. Now, all this is affecting the users and is straight away playing with their emotions. With analysts like Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit constantly trying to push for a settlement, things are looking to turn worse. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports But the delay is just intensifying fans’ frustration. YouTube TV is losing valuable customers Well, the dispute is giving fans a reason to find different ways to keep watching their favorite shows, and that’s what’s making them angry. So, when Nashville resident Steven Neely couldn’t get ABC to watch the “Monday Night Football” game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, he got creative on X. So, following the fictional 80s secret agent MacGyver, he used a paper clip as an antenna and stuck it into his TV’s cable port, and got a clear signal. “My picture looked great—good enough to watch the game,” he said, giving a hack to all younger viewers. “You can go old school without even buying an antenna.” He is not the only one; many other fans started finding turnarounds, which is affecting Disney’s channels like ABC and ESPN. As they are already seeing a whole 500k fewer viewers in College GameDay last week. Even some of the “Dancing With the Stars” fans shared videos of them buying and setting up antennas from stores such as Target and Best Buy. One fan, Chandler Majewski, said on TikTok, “I know my husband loves me because he set up an antenna so I could watch ‘DWTS.’” Now, if the dispute keeps growing, things might not turn out good for both parties, as fans might totally end their subscriptions and go for a better alternative.
