ABC, ESPN, FX, Disney Channel and National Geographic channels will return to YouTube TV starting next Friday. After a fifteen-day probe, YouTube, owned by Google, and Disney reached a multi-year agreement to restore broadcast of the channel at no additional cost to millions of subscribers. All Disney films will also be accessible again. YouTube TV is one of the largest pay TV services in the United States with nearly 9 million subscribers (as of last April).
Due to the failure to reach an earlier agreement, broadcasts of Disney’s Internet television service ceased before midnight on Thursday, October 30.
YouTube said last month that Disney used the “threat of total shutdown” as a negotiating tactic to enforce contract terms that resulted in higher prices for its customers. Walt Disney criticized YouTube TV for “demanding preferential treatment at lower rates.”
Football, hockey and basketball are on ESPN
Last week, American channel CNBC reported that Disney was asking about $10 per subscriber per month for ESPN, the channel that broadcasts NFL football games, college football games, NBA basketball games and NHL hockey games.
It’s a battle of the titans that has good results: YouTube TV’s rapid growth as a pay television platform, combined with the power of Google, gives the American company great negotiating power with media companies, even as large as Disney.
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said Thursday that his company had offered a deal that was “equal to or better than what other major distributors have reached.” The prospect of a prolonged battle over distribution of Walt Disney’s television channels has investors worried about the prospects of its television business. The historic empire is struggling to gain ground on its cable television arm, even as its streaming activity grows rapidly.
