Late Thursday night, ESPN/ABC pulled the plug on YouTube TV. All networks under the Disney banner were removed from the platform in a flash. It happened with just a couple of minutes left in the Tulane/UTSA game, unassuming fans wondering if there was an internet outage or they'd just stumbled upon the ending of The Sopranos.
Members, when we renew our contracts with network partners, we advocate for fair pricing to offer you the best TV experience. Our contract with Disney has reached its renewal date, and we'll not agree to terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s TV products.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) October 31, 2025
This is far from the first carriage dispute between a network and YouTube TV. Consumers have gotten used to it. Both CBS and FOX had disputes with YouTube TV earlier in the football season, both of which were resolved without interruption in service. The expectation was the same for this one, but one fact of life is that the Mouse is stubborn and doesn't budge once it's drawn a line in the sand.
So now, with another college football weekend on the horizon, fans will either miss the biggest games of the weekend, or, more likely, cancel YouTube TV and search for another provider. There are plenty of others like FuboTV, but the promised paradise of cord-cutting has instead been a desolate wasteland. Fans are longing for the days of basic cable when you didn't have to worry about the fragile egos of billionaires impacting your ability to turn on the TV and watch a football game.
Consumers are always the losers when billionaires fight
Who is at fault in this dispute isn't for certain, though YouTube TV will bear the majority of the weight of it. Fans aren't going to miss games, and even if the fault is more on Disney's end (likely), they hold all the cards. It's more challenging to boycott something when your favorite team exclusively plays games under the Disney banner. Every single Alabama football game this season has been played on a channel owned by Disney.
Disney's agenda is clear: they launched a new app called ESPN Unlimited, which they want to drive fans toward. The terms they gave to YouTube TV upon renewal were probably laughable, and they knew it.
The wave of cancellations will force YouTube TV to relent and accept an unfavorable deal. That will force YouTube TV to increase subscription fees to offset the added costs. The burden is always moved to the consumer. Making a little bit less money is never a consideration in these circumstances. Taking a little bit more out of your paycheck is always the solution.
It doesn't matter who's to blame. The only thing that matters is who pays the price - and that's us.