Disney–YouTube TV Standoff Enters Second Week, Putting NBA Games at Risk
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Subscribers to YouTube TV are facing a second straight weekend without access to ESPN and ABC as carriage talks between Google and Disney remain unresolved, according to a report by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
The two companies are said to be “far apart” on financial terms, leaving the Google-owned live TV streaming service without two of the NBA’s primary national outlets. ABC carries weekend games, while ESPN is one of the league’s core rights partners. The blackout began last week and shows no sign of ending before the next slate of nationally televised matchups.
Disney is the last major programmer without a new distribution pact with YouTube TV in the current negotiation cycle. FOX reached an agreement in August, and Comcast followed in September. With Disney still on the sidelines, YouTube TV viewers must look elsewhere—often through additional subscriptions and logins—to watch nationally scheduled NBA games.
On-air personalities at ESPN have urged fans to visit KeepMyNetworks.com to pressure YouTube TV, but the campaign has met mixed reactions. During his ESPN show, Pat McAfee remarked that viewers should not be burdened with “corporate talking points” when they simply want to watch games.
YouTube TV said it “won’t accept terms that disadvantage our members while benefiting Disney’s own live TV products.” Disney counters that YouTube TV is the holdout in the negotiations.
The impasse leaves NBA League Pass subscribers on YouTube TV without a national broadcast window, and a separate regional blackout involving YouTube TV and FanDuel Sports remains unsettled.
Source: Hoops Wire
