According to CNET, Disney and YouTube TV have reached a multi-year agreement ending a 25-day blackout that began on October 30th when their previous contract expired. The deal restores all Disney-owned channels including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and FX to YouTube TV’s roughly 5 million subscribers. Channels began returning Friday night with full restoration expected within 24 hours. The agreement includes the unlimited version of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service at no additional cost and the ability to add the Disney Plus/Hulu bundle to YouTube TV packages. The resolution came just in time for weekend college football games on ESPN and ABC.
The new normal for streaming
Here’s the thing – this 25-day standoff shows that streaming services are becoming exactly what they were supposed to replace. Remember when we all cut the cord to escape these exact same carriage disputes that plagued cable? Now we’re watching YouTube TV and Disney play the same games that made us hate Comcast and DirecTV.
And let’s be real – this was always going to get resolved before the really big football games. The timing is suspiciously convenient, isn’t it? They let it drag through some mid-season games but made sure to fix things before the college football playoff and NFL playoffs really heat up. That’s when the real subscriber revolt would have happened.
The streaming bundle shuffle
So what are subscribers actually getting beyond the return of channels they were already paying for? The ESPN+ integration is interesting, but how many sports fans actually need more ESPN content? Basically, they’re throwing in some streaming services to make the price hike that’s inevitably coming feel more justified.
I temporarily signed up for Fubo TV during this mess, and let me tell you – the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side. All these live TV streaming services have their own quirks and missing channels. It’s like choosing which set of problems you want to deal with.
Where this is all heading
Look, this deal according to The Hollywood Reporter was the longest Disney blackout in recent memory, and that should worry everyone. As streaming services consolidate power, these disputes are only going to get more common and last longer.
The official Disney announcement talks about “evolving with how audiences choose to watch,” but let’s call this what it is – two giant companies figuring out how to extract maximum dollars from consumers while giving us the illusion of choice. We’re right back where we started with cable, just with better interfaces and more apps to manage.
