Disney Suffers $30 Million-Plus Loss Amid ESPN, YouTube TV Dispute – Newsweek

As Disney and YouTube TV’s standoff entered its second week, millions of subscribers were denied access to live sports and primetime programming. Now, Wall Street analysts have begun tallying the cost. According to Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne, Disney is losing roughly $30 million per week while its linear channels — including ESPN and ABC — stay off YouTube TV, a figure that works out to about $4.3 million a day. The blackout began when the last carriage deal ran out in late October, and ever since, both sides have painted the fight as one over leverage and price. The outage affects not only ESPN and ABC but other Disney-owned linear networks as well — a substantial hit given YouTube TV’s reported subscriber base of more than 10 million users. YouTube TV says it won’t sign off on a deal that shortchanges its users or nudges them toward Disney’s apps, while Disney claims YouTube is simply trying to pay less than fair value for premium shows. While the two sides remain locked in negotiations, fans of both the NFL and college football are bearing the brunt, losing access to scheduled broadcasts and Monday Night Football, along with DVR features on impacted channels. Read More: Jaguars
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