YouTube TV has more than four million subscribers, according to a person familiar with the operation.
Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg News
YouTube TV and Walt Disney Co. DIS 0.01% reached a deal Sunday to restore access to Disney-owned channels including ESPN and FX for YouTube TV subscribers.
The deal ended a brief blackout that began at the stroke of midnight Saturday after the carriage contract between the two companies expired. YouTube TV has more than four million subscribers, according to a person familiar with the operation.
Terms of the new contract weren’t disclosed.
The standoff was over distribution fees that Google’s YouTube TV pays to stream a package of channels owned by Disney, whose holdings include the ABC broadcast network and its local stations as well as more than dozen cable channels.
“We apologize for the disruption and appreciate your patience as we continued to negotiate on your behalf. We also value Disney’s partnership and willingness to work towards an agreement,” a YouTube spokeswoman said in a statement. YouTube parent Google is a unit of Alphabet Inc. GOOG -1.41%
A Disney spokeswoman said in a statement that the company appreciates “Google’s collaboration to reach fair terms that are consistent with the market.”
Besides fees, another sticking point was YouTube TV’s request for a clause that would guarantee it pays the same rate as distributors of a similar size, according to people familiar with the matter.
YouTube TV promised it would drop its monthly subscription price to $49.99 from $64.99 as long as the channels were unavailable. To make good on that promise, YouTube TV said it will grant a one-time $15 credit to affected subscribers.
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Appeared in the December 20, 2021, print edition as ‘YouTube TV, Disney Settle Impasse.’
