YouTube TV prospects watched ESPN go darkish Thursday night time as talks between the Google-owned platform and sports activities community broke down, main the channel — together with different Disney-operated channels — to vanish from the platform.
A deal between the 2 sides couldn’t be reached, and by late Thursday night time, the stations, which embrace ABC, FX, Disney Jr. and Nationwide Geographic, together with ESPN channels, went darkish for greater than 10 million YouTube TV prospects, escalating the extended back-and-forth between the 2 sides.
On the coronary heart of the problems is pricing, in keeping with Sports activities Enterprise Journal, with each side pointing the finger on the different in dueling statements launched on Thursday night time.
“Sadly, Google’s YouTube TV has chosen to disclaim their subscribers the content material they worth most by refusing to pay honest charges for our channels, together with ESPN and ABC,” Disney mentioned in an announcement. “With no new settlement in place, their subscribers is not going to have entry to our programming, which incorporates one of the best lineup in dwell sports activities – anchored by the NFL, NBA, and faculty soccer, with 13 of the highest 25 faculty groups taking part in this weekend. With a $3 trillion market cap, Google is utilizing its market dominance to remove competitors and undercut the industry-standard phrases we’ve efficiently negotiated with each different distributor.”
Google countered, accusing Disney of attempting to push digital customers to platforms it owns and has programming much like YouTube TV.
“Final week Disney used the specter of a blackout on YouTube TV as a negotiating tactic to power deal phrases that might increase costs on our prospects,” Google’s assertion learn, per SBJ. “They’re now following via on that menace, suspending their content material on YouTube TV. This determination immediately harms our subscribers whereas benefiting their very own dwell TV merchandise, together with Hulu + Dwell TV and Fubo.We all know this can be a irritating and disappointing final result for our subscribers and we proceed to induce Disney to work with us constructively to achieve a good settlement that restores their networks to YouTube TV.”
Google mentioned it’s going to supply prospects a $20 credit score if ESPN and different Disney-owned content material stay off the platform for “an prolonged time frame.”
The blackout comes forward of an enormous slate of school soccer video games this weekend on each ABC and ESPN.
The matchups embrace No. 9 Vanderbilt going through No. 20 Texas on ABC, No. 5 Georgia vs. Florida on ABC, No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 14 Tennessee on ABC and No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 24 Utah on ESPN.
Sports activities followers may even be unable to observe ESPN’s signature faculty soccer pregame present, “School Gameday,” which might be on-site in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, this Saturday.
YouTube TV has been in a number of carriage disputes over the previous few months, together with with Fox and Comcast.
Nonetheless, these have been resolved earlier than they reached the blackout stage.
