In a Halloween scare, Disney networks were pulled from YouTube TV after the two failed to renew their carriage agreement. 

Word began trickling out with under an hour remaining until a midnight ET deadline. Twenty-one networks are impacted, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Freeform, FX, FXX, Disney Junior, SEC Network, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Disney Channel, ESPNU, FXM, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Disney XD, Localish and ESPNews. Three channels part of YouTube TV’s Spanish Plan—ESPN Deportes, Baby TV Español and Nat Geo Mundo—are also involved. 

“Last week Disney used the threat of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to force deal terms that would raise prices on our customers. They’re now following through on that threat, suspending their content on YouTube TV,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement to CFX. “This decision directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their own live TV products, including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV.”

It’s the second time the two companies have butted heads. The first was in late 2021 when Disney nets went dark for two days. Four years later, it may still be the same two at the table, but the Google-owned vMVPD and Disney have undergone more than a few changes that make this saga one to watch. 

Disney’s stake in the vMVPD space was previously through Hulu + Live TV. As of Wednesday, its deal to buy sports-centric Fubo and merge the two products became official after first being announced in January. Then there’s the ESPN Unlimited aspect, which Fubo has already ingested into its Fubo Sports offering. However, according to reports, it’s not ingestion that’s separating Disney and YouTube TV—it’s the price. 

“Unfortunately, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC,” a Disney spokesperson said. “… With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is using its market dominance to eliminate competition and undercut the industry-standard terms we’ve successfully negotiated with every other distributor. We know how frustrating this is for YouTube TV subscribers and remain committed to working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.”

On the other hand, YouTube TV now boasts around 10 million subscribers while having added NFL Sunday Ticket to its portfolio. In the past few months, YouTube TV has had run-ins with Fox, NBCUniversal and TelevisaUnivision, and earlier this year it was set to face off Paramount. A short-term extension and eventual agreement skirted blackouts with Paramount, Fox and NBCU, with the latter seeing Peacock join YouTube’s Primetime Channels lineup and relaunching the NBC Sports channel. TU, however, just crossed the one-month mark since going dark on the vMVPD. 

If the Disney-YouTube TV dispute persists through the weekend, subscribers will miss out on top-25 college football matchups such as Oklahoma-Tennessee, Vanderbilt-Texas and Cincinnati-Utah. Then, there’s Monday Night Football—which is also the same day that the 2025-26 college basketball season tips off. The next NBA games on ESPN are scheduled for Wednesday night, all while the NHL’s regular season continues.

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