Google, the parent company of YouTube TV, has been at odds with Disney for nearly two weeks. The dispute arose after the two companies failed to reach an agreement on a streaming deal.
This means that for the next 12 days, 10 million YouTube TV subscribers like me will not be able to access Disney-owned TV networks like ABC and ESPN, which are made up of about 20 different channels.
Business Insider called sports fans the “big losers” in the conflict. The New York Times and Engadget publish a guide to help viewers watch must-see college football games. But the media has ignored those suffering in silence while their peers have launched fubo trials to watch Monday Night Football.
That’s me. I’m confused. I can’t watch “Jeopardy!” Because it will be broadcast on ABC.
“Danger!” is a long-standing staple of my nightly routine. Work is finished. I’ll make dinner. I’m watching “Jeopardy!” So imagine my surprise when I turned on YouTube TV in early November and discovered that it hadn’t recorded the latest episode. In fact, my “danger!” lasted for months. My recording has disappeared! Fear! Who is the current “dangerous person”? champion? Has Ken Jennings worn any cool ties lately? I don’t know. Because I can’t watch “Jeopardy!”
YouTube TV and Disney have been embroiled in this public dispute for weeks. On October 23, YouTube TV said in a statement that while it is “working in good faith” to negotiate a deal with Disney, the company is “proposing expensive economic terms that increase prices for YouTube TV customers (…) while benefiting Disney’s own live TV product.” From Disney’s perspective, YouTube TV is “refusing to pay a fair price for our channel.”
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YouTube TV announced Sunday that it would give subscribers a $20 credit (which must be redeemed manually) to compensate for Disney’s nearly two-week power outage. While we appreciate the generosity of the $3.46 trillion giant Google, can we point out that when Disney’s channel was blacked out from YouTube TV for a day in 2021 over a similar dispute, subscribers got a $15 credit? (Also, back then, YouTube TV was nearly $20 cheaper per month.)
According to Morgan Stanley, Disney stands to lose an estimated $60 million over two weeks, or $4.3 million per day, by not signing a deal with YouTube TV. But Disney could also create a new revenue stream with its recently launched ESPN Unlimited subscription, which gives subscribers access to all ESPN content for $30 a month. However, it’s important to note that ESPN Unlimited crucially does not include America’s popular quiz show Jeopardy!
Like many others, I could also use this opportunity to investigate other cord-cutting streamers, perhaps owned by Disney. But since I may or may not share my YouTube TV account with five other people, I’m still locked into a pretty sweet deal. (YouTube TV, please don’t recommend Netflix to me.)
When will this national nightmare end? When will I be able to criticize the contestants’ mathematically illogical daily double bets again? When will I realize that I literally know nothing about opera? The ball is in your court, Mr. Mouse.
