Disney Pulls ABC, ESPN From YouTube TV Amid Contract Dispute

Disney pulled ABC and the ESPN family of networks from YouTube TV last week as it was unable to reach a new deal with Google, the parent company of YouTube.

YouTube TV Subscribers Lose ABC, ESPN

Last Thursday, YouTube TV subscribers lost access to all Walt Disney Company channels — including conference-specific ACC and SEC Networks for college sports.

For NBA fans, this means missing out on ESPN games such as the Minnesota Timberwolves at New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, as well as the Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers this Saturday.

Millions of NFL and college football fans have also already canceled their subscriptions. Monday Night Football airs on ABC and the ESPN networks, while ABC carries afternoon and primetime college football games.

Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a fair deal, and starting today, Disney programming will not be available on YouTube TV. This means you will no longer be able to watch channels like ABC and ESPN or access recordings from these networks in your Library.

— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) October 31, 2025

Statement regarding Google’s YouTube TV pic.twitter.com/qev5AQGewS

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 31, 2025

To add insult to injury, YouTube TV could be compensating its subscribers with just a $20 credit. That’s a one-time payment. It’s not like the service is deducting $20 per month from everyone’s monthly bill.

“We know this is a frustrating and disappointing outcome for our subscribers and we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV,” Google says in its help center.

“It’s our goal to restore Disney content to YouTube TV, but if we can’t reach an agreement and their content is unavailable for an extended period of time, we’ll offer our subscribers a $20 credit.”

ESPN Unlimited Plan Remains An Option

YouTube TV users have two main options to circumvent the blackout. They can change their streaming provider, or add a direct-to-consumer streaming account.

The ESPN Unlimited plan launched Aug. 21, and the cord-cutting subscription service runs $29.99 per month or $299.99 annually. ESPN Unlimited includes a dozen different networks:

• ABC
• ACC Network
• ACCNX (digital-only)
• ESPN
• ESPNEWs
• ESPN Deportes
• ESPN2
• ESPN3
• ESPNU
• ESPN+
• SEC Network
• SEC+ (digital-only)

Dish, Fubo, Sling Have ABC, ESPN

Although the ABC and ESPN channels are no longer available via YouTube TV, most of its competitors still offer the Disney-owned channels as of November 2025.

Those streaming services include the following:

• Cox
• DirecTV
• Dish
• Fubo
• Hulu + Live TV
• Optimum
• Sling
• Spectrum
• Verizon Fios
• Xfinity

More importantly, ABC is free over the air, so it can be accessed with a broadcast antenna. However, the same cannot be said for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and the ACC/SEC Networks.

In addition to losing the aforementioned channels, YouTube TV users no longer have access to Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, National Geographic, and National Geographic Wild.

The Disney stalemate is the latest carriage dispute for YouTube TV, which recently dropped Univision and other TelevisaUnivision-owned channels after failed negotiations.