YouTube TV Subscribers, Don't Give in to Disney. It's What It Wants.

by Julian Spivey

The standoff between YouTube TV and Disney over television/streaming rights has entered its second week, with YouTube TV users being without Disney channels, like the popular ABC and ESPN networks.

The dispute centers on carriage fees, the per-subscriber rates distributors pay to carry broadcast and cable networks.  Disney’s networks, which also include FX, Disney Channel, Nat Geo, and more, have been dark on YouTube TV since late Thursday, October 30.

YouTube TV, owned by Google, has been involved in multiple carriage disputes this year, but most deals are struck before channels are removed from the platform, or within a day or two of being removed. A carriage dispute of this length, especially with a company owning some of the most-watched channels on television, is rare.

According to Variety, a recent survey by market research firm Drive Research found that 24% of YouTube TV subscribers had already canceled or plan to cancel the service in response to the Google/Disney standoff. Thirty percent of those surveyed say they planned to subscribe directly to Hulu + Live TV or ESPN Unlimited to ensure they have access to the sporting events and networks they want to watch.

I completely understand being pissed off by the Google/Disney dispute. As a YouTube TV subscriber myself, I have been, too, though I’m more upset about losing the opportunity to DVR ABC dramas and comedies I watch than about not being able to see select college football games or Monday Night Football.

But one thing I absolutely will not do is cancel YouTube TV— at least anytime soon —to switch to Hulu + Live TV.

This is a fight between billionaire conglomerates, but it also feels like a dirty plot by Disney to make more money and kill off a competitor.

You see, Disney owns Hulu, just as it does ABC, ESPN, etc., and if it can piss off enough YouTube TV subscribers to cancel and switch to Hulu + Live TV, it’s a win-win for the company.  

We’ve never lived in a time when media conglomerates were so obviously trying to buy up so many companies and essentially hold a monopoly, and when the government seemed OK with it.  

Yes, Google/YouTube aren’t faultless in this standoff, but without ABC, ESPN, etc., YouTube TV’s product probably dies off in the future, and that would make Hulu + Live TV the biggest live television streamer. As it stands, YouTube TV has roughly 10 million subscribers, whereas Hulu + Live TV has around 4 million. Can’t you see why Disney might want to keep ABC, ESPN, etc., away from YouTube TV for an extended period of time?

Eventually, Google and Disney will come to a deal. It has to. Otherwise, as I said, YouTube TV is kaput. But what we absolutely should not do is kowtow to Disney by forking over more money to the company.

I understand you want to watch football. But it’s not worth giving in to Disney by subscribing to one of their streamers in the meantime. Try to ride out this dispute like I am.