Google has declined a proposal from the Walt Disney Company to temporarily restore ABC to YouTube TV for one day on Nov. 4 to provide live coverage of state and local elections, as the companies continue to clash over carriage fees in a high-profile contract dispute.
Disney pulled ABC, ESPN and its portfolio of entertainment and sports networks from YouTube TV on Oct. 30 after negotiations over streaming rights and distribution costs broke down. The blackout has left millions of YouTube TV subscribers without access to some of the most-watched news, sports and entertainment channels during a key political event week.
The two sides have traded public statements accusing one another of holding out for unfair terms. Google has argued that Disney is pushing for “costly economic terms” that would force YouTube TV to raise prices for customers. Disney, meanwhile, said Google is trying to “undercut” the content agreements it has already secured with competing cable and streaming distributors.
In a statement provided on Nov. 3, Disney said it made a specific request for YouTube TV to restore ABC for 24 hours to ensure subscribers could watch election night coverage.
“We believe in putting the public interest first and hope YouTube TV will take this small step for their customers while we continue to work toward a fair agreement,” the company said, adding that the temporary return would give viewers “access to the information they rely on.”
The off-year elections include gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey and the closely watched New York City mayoral race events that typically draw high viewership across major news networks.
Google publicly rejected the request in a blog post on Nov. 3, saying YouTube TV subscribers still have access to multiple election news sources through other networks and free livestreams on YouTube.
“In fact, on the last two U.S. election days, the vast majority of tuned-in YouTube TV subscribers chose not to watch ABC,” the company said. It added that temporarily restoring the network for a single day would “lead to customer confusion.”
Google instead called on Disney to partially restore its channels while negotiations continue, particularly ESPN and ABC, which draw some of the service’s highest viewership. “Those are the channels that people want,” the company said.
Disney responded by insisting that it already has “a fair proposal on the table to restore our channels,” and accused Google of avoiding a meaningful compromise.
The dispute affects a wide slate of Disney-owned networks that span news, sports, entertainment, children’s programming and Spanish-language offerings, including ABC and ABC News Live, ESPN and its associated sports networks such as ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews, college sports outlets ACC Network and SEC Network, children’s channels Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD, entertainment networks Freeform, FX, FXX and FXM, nature and documentary-oriented Nat Geo and Nat Geo Wild, as well as Localish, Baby TV Español, Nat Geo Mundo and ESPN Deportes. The blackout has already impacted sports fans during an active NFL, NBA and college football season, and could escalate further if negotiations remain unresolved.
As of now, neither company has indicated when the channels may return.
Negotiations are ongoing, and both sides are urging the other to compromise while positioning themselves as defenders of consumer interests.
For now, YouTube TV subscribers will have to use alternative news sources for election coverage and wait for updates on when or if Disney’s networks will be restored.