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Updated on 10/31/2025 at 2:00 p.m.:
Disney and YouTube have reached the October 31 deadline with no end to negotiations in sight. As such, more than 20 Disney-owned channels have been removed from YouTube TV. To find out more, continue reading here.
Nothing says Halloween like an ominous countdown. Currently, subscribers to YouTube TV, the company’s live TV service, are waiting to find out if they will still have access to Disney-operated channels, including ABC and ESPN, on October 31. This is the latest conflict in the ongoing pricing disputes between Google and its various content providers, but even if Disney takes over and goes home, you won’t be left entirely without options.
When could Disney channels disappear on YouTube TV?
According to Variety, if Disney and Google fail to reach an agreement by the end of Thursday, all Disney networks will disappear from YouTube TV on October 30 at midnight ET. These include Disney Channel, ESPN, ABC News, Disney Jr., FX, FXX, FRXM, NatGeo, Freefrom and even local ABC stations.
This isn’t the first time YouTube has experienced something like this. Last February, Paramount made a similar threat before ultimately reaching an agreement that included no disruption to customers’ access to its channels. Since then, YouTube has had similar conflicts with Fox Corp., NBC Universal and Univision, with only the Spanish-language network failing to reach an agreement before its channels disappeared.
It’s all about licensing fees
What happens here comes down to licensing fees. To offer channels like those of the cable companies it is trying to replace, YouTube TV must continually pay fees to content providers, and those providers sometimes offer higher fees. This leaves YouTube in a bit of a bind as it tries to navigate between paying a fair price to its partners while avoiding raising prices for its subscribers.
Disney told Variety: “[t]”It’s the latest example of Google exploiting its position at the expense of its own customers,” implying that Google risked removing channels its customers had paid for by refusing to compensate Disney with “fair rates.” Google in turn claims that giving in to Disney’s “costly economics” would force the company to “raise prices on YouTube TV,” as well as leave the service in a tough spot compared to Disney’s live TV offering, Hulu + Live TV.
What happens if a deal isn’t reached
Personally, I wouldn’t take either company’s statement too seriously, at least based on previous conflicts between Paramount and NBC Universal: there’s a good chance a deal can be reached before YouTube TV subscribers are affected. But as with these previous conflicts, YouTube is prepared to make it up to its customers if they lose access to Disney content.
“If it is [Disney content] remains unavailable for an extended period of time, we will offer subscribers a $20 credit,” YouTube said. That would be enough to subscribe to one month of the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN bundle with ads, although YouTube did not specify whether the credit would be recurring.
Currently, a basic YouTube TV plan starts at $72.99/month for your first three months, then goes up to $82.99/month after that, making it slightly cheaper than Hulu + Live TV in the long run ($64.99/month for the first three months, then $89.99/month after that). It remains to be seen whether prices will remain the same if Disney removes its channels.
