Did YouTube TV Drop ESPN and ABC over contract dispute?

The streaming service YouTube TV has removed channels owned by The Walt Disney Company, including ABC, ESPN, FX, National Geographic and the Disney Channel, following a failure to reach a new distribution agreement.

The deadline for the agreement was 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 30, 2025, and the blackout began late Thursday evening.

In a blog post, YouTube TV stated that Disney’s proposed terms “would raise prices on our customers and give our customers fewer choices, while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products” including Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

Disney countered that “YouTube TV has chosen to deny their subscribers the content they value most by refusing to pay fair rates for our channels, including ESPN and ABC.”

The blackout affects more than 10 million YouTube TV subscribers and comes at a time when major sports broadcasts are scheduled, including college-football and NFL programming on ESPN and ABC.

YouTube TV announced it will offer a US$20 credit to subscribers if the Disney-owned channels remain unavailable for “an extended period.”

The dispute follows several carriage-fee negotiations involving YouTube TV earlier this year, including those with NBCUniversal, Fox Corporation, and Paramount Global.

Meanwhile, the question "When will ABC return to YouTube TV?" remains unanswered, as no official statement has been made yet other than the ongoing negotiations.

This development could result in subscribers missing live events on the affected networks until a resolution is reached.