After failed contract negotiations led Alphabet’s GOOG YouTube TV to remove Walt Disney Co. DIS networks from its service on Dec. 17 at 11:59 p.m. ET, the live TV streaming service has announced that the carriage dispute has been resolved.
What Happened: YouTube TV and Disney have agreed to a new deal that will restore access to a variety of Disney networks on the streaming platform.
YouTube TV made the announcement on Twitter.
When the Disney deal expired, YouTube TV subscribers were set to receive a discounted rate of $49.99 a month. The standard monthly rate is now being reestablished, although customers will receive a one-time discount.
Disney issued a statement confirming the agreement. “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,” the statement reads.
“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,” Disney said in the statement.
Why It Matters: The Disney networks impacted by the agreement include ESPN, FX, Freeform and National Geographic along with several large-market ABC-owned stations.
If a deal had not been reached quickly, then YouTube TV subscribers may have been unable to watch ESPN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast of the College Football Playoff semifinal games. Last year's games each drew more than 19 million viewers and was ESPN’s third-biggest viewing day of all time.
YouTube TV surpassed 3 million subscribers as of fall 2020, according to Google parent Alphabet. Although some Wall Street analysts believe the number has grown to more than 4 million, ranking YouTube TV among the top 10 pay-TV distributors of any kind.
Related Link: Roku's Stock Climbs Back Above Support After New Deal With YouTube
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
