YouTube announced that its deal with Disney will end on Friday, December 17, and the company has yet to reach an “equitable agreement” with the company to continue distributing its content on YouTube TV. As a result, YouTube TV will lose all Disney-owned channels once the contract expires around the end of this week.
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YouTube TV recently shared this news with subscribers via email and even posted a notice on its website. It states:
A new deal will be reached provided we can reach fair terms with Disney. However, if we are unable to reach an agreement by Friday, Disney-owned channels will no longer be available on YouTube TV starting December 17th, and we will reduce our monthly price by $15, from $64.99 to $49.99 (while Disney content remains off our platform).
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YouTube TV is advertised as offering more than 85 cable channels for a monthly price of $64.99. Disney has several channels, including five ESPN channels, the Disney Channel, FX channels, and local ABC network channels. YouTube TV says it is open and willing to reach a new deal with Disney, but its notice suggests that Disney is trying to charge more for its channels than it would on comparable TV provider services.
This isn't the first time that disputes have arisen between channel providers and TV services. YouTube TV itself recently had a dispute with NBC that was resolved earlier this year.
The only positive is that if they don't reach an agreement by Friday, YouTube TV will cut the price of its subscription plans by $15 per month. Of course, customers would probably prefer to watch Disney-owned channels.
YouTube TV suggests that customers who want to watch Disney content sign up for The Disney Bundle. This is a subscription offered directly by Disney that offers Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. It's interesting that YouTube TV is directing its customers to a competing service.
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Hopefully a deal can be reached or YouTube TV could see customers leave and head to the competition. As mentioned above, the channel loss (and price change) is set to take place on Friday, December 17th.
Information source: xda-developers.com
