Channels owned by Disney – like ABC, ESPN and FX and The Disney Channel itself – are back on the YouTube TV live TV streaming service after the briefest of absences this weekend.
The flagship networks disappeared on Saturday morning at midnight after YouTube and Disney failed to renegotiate their contract agreement, causing scores of YouTube TV customers to reconsider their subscription with the over-the-top platform.
YouTube had pledged a $15 discount on the $64.99 a month subscription fee if the channels were lost and in an email sent to customers on Sunday, promised to honour that with a one-time credit, even though the channels were gone for less than two days.
“We’re happy to share that we’ve reached a deal with Disney to return their content to YouTube TV while preserving a $64.99/mo. price for our members,” the company wrote.
“We’ve already started to restore access to Disney networks like ESPN and FX, including their live and on-demand content, as well as any recordings that were previously in your Library. We will also be turning on your local ABC stations over the course of the day. Don’t worry, your personal preferences and recommendations will be just as you left them.”
“We apologize for the disruption and appreciate your patience as we continued to negotiate on your behalf. We also appreciate Disney’s partnership and willingness to work towards an agreement.”
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A statement from Disney echoed the sentiments. It reads: “We are pleased to announce that after a brief disruption, we have reached a new distribution agreement with Google’s YouTube TV for continued carriage of our portfolio of networks.
“We appreciate Google’s collaboration to reach fair terms that are consistent with the market, and we’re thrilled that our robust lineup of live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming is in the process of being restored to YouTube TV subscribers across the country.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
