Disney warns ESPN could go dark on YouTube TV amid carriage battle – Awful Announcing

Edit by Liam McGuire In its third major carriage battle in as many months, YouTube TV customers are at risk of losing ESPN and other Disney-owned channels by Halloween if a new agreement is not reached. According to a report by Alex Sherman of CNBC, Disney began informing YouTube TV customers on Thursday evening that ESPN and other Disney-owned networks could go dark beginning October 31 if the two sides do not reach a new carriage deal. Prior reports indicated that the current agreement between the two companies expired at the end of October, and it is typical for such disputes to go into the eleventh hour. Google-owned YouTube TV has found itself in the center of two similarly high-profile carriage battles in recent months. In August, Fox and YouTube TV locked horns over terms of a new agreement before reaching a deal without any major blackouts. Last month, it was NBC and YouTube TV at odds over carriage, with the two sides also avoiding blackouts. As usual, these disputes are generally fought over pricing (how much YouTube TV will pay for each of Disney’s channels per subscriber) and distribution (which channels will YouTube TV carry, and on what pricing
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