Disney Signs New Multi-Year Distribution Agreement With YouTube TV
After two weeks of disruption, YouTube TV customers once again have access to Disney’s suite of channels, including ABC and ESPN, just in time for the next Monday Night Football.
Disney has announced a multi-year distribution agreement with YouTube TV that delivers Disney’s marquee sports, news and entertainment programming – along with greater choice and value for their customers.
Key elements of the agreement include:
- Carriage of Disney’s full linear portfolio including all the ESPN networks, ABC, the Disney-branded channels, Freeform, the FX Networks, and the National Geographic channels
- ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service (Unlimited Plan) to be made available at no additional cost to YouTube TV subscribers
- Access to a selection of live and on-demand programming from ESPN Unlimited inside YouTube TV
- Select networks to be included in various genre-specific packages
- The ability to include the Disney+, Hulu Bundle as part of select YouTube offerings
Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement regarding the new deal:
“This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch. It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.”
Roger’s Take: All carriage disputes that end in content being removed are a pain for subscribers, who have paid to have access to that content and the dispute between Disney and YouTube has been very public, resulting in a lot of negative publicity and social media comments from disgruntled YouTube TV users. Ultimately, the problem has been fixed, but there will be long-term damage to both platforms from this dispute. Some people have realised they don’t watch ESPN as much as they thought, while YouTube TV also lost customers to other platforms.
It’s great that YouTube TV customers will now get access to ESPN Unlimited, which can also be accessed directly through Disney+, though I was surprised that Disney+/Hulu wasn’t included in the deal, but a new bundle might be another way for Disney to boost subscribers. Bundling in ESPN Unlimited is a key element of Disney’s plan to keep the old cable business running, which has been a key to Disney’s success for decades.
What do you think of Disney and YouTube’s new deal? Let me know on social media!
