YouTube TV is giving subscribers a $20 credit for the more than a weeklong blackout of Disney-owned networks, including ESPN and ABC, as carriage negotiations stretch on. The company said eligible customers will receive the one-time credit on their next bill and that Disney channels will be returned to service within a few hours of signing a new deal.
What the $20 YouTube TV credit covers for subscribers
The make-good is a reflection of the disruption caused by the loss of a broad range of Disney programming, including live sports on ESPN and local news and primetime drama on ABC. Sister channels like FX and National Geographic are also blacked out. For a lot of subscribers, the timing stings: Pro and college football are in full swing, and ESPN’s lineup features some exceptionally high-profile NFL broadcasts as well as a strong schedule on college football weekends and for NBA coverage.
Alphabet has said YouTube TV has more than 8 million subscribers, a mark of the service’s girth and the repercussions when a big portfolio goes dark. Live sports are a key part of the value proposition for the bundle; Nielsen year-end figures keep telling us that well more than 90 percent of the top 100 U.S. telecast audiences are sports, so access to original rights holders ESPN and ABC is especially significant for virtual cable subscribers.
How to receive the $20 YouTube TV credit on your bill
YouTube TV says it will issue a $20 credit applied to the next monthly statement for affected customers. Customers are advised to visit the Billing section of their account to see the adjustment and read previous account notifications or emails detailing eligibility. There are no long-term strings attached to the credit and it should be posted automatically; as of yesterday, if the channel outage continues through an entire billing cycle, expect the company to communicate further about other possible concessions.
- Check the Billing section of your account to view the adjustment.
- Review prior account notifications or emails for eligibility details.
- The credit should post automatically to your next monthly statement.
- If the outage spans a full billing cycle, expect further communication.
The credit is only available to YouTube TV subscribers; it does not apply to stand-alone Disney apps and services. Should a renewal come to pass, YouTube TV says channels are typically restored promptly — oftentimes within hours — and cloud DVR recordings are preserved (at least where content rights permit).
Inside the YouTube TV and Disney standoff over carriage fees
As with many carriage disputes, price is the issue at hand. YouTube TV has bemoaned the potential increases for the Disney portfolio, with Disney saying it is simply looking for fair market value for its networks. Such deals figure out how much Disney receives from the distributor for each subscriber the company has per month, and considerations include carriage of local ABC stations, sports rights costs and placement in base or add-on tiers.
This is not the first clash between the two companies. In a previous disagreement, YouTube TV temporarily lost Disney networks and issued customers a $15 credit after programming was restored. The most recent blackout has lasted longer, a sign of an ever-tougher environment as programming costs continue to escalate and distributors try to hold the line on monthly prices for subscribers who grow increasingly antsy about price increases.
Why the Disney blackout on YouTube TV matters to viewers
Sports fans suffer most visibly from the absence of ESPN. YouTube TV subscribers cannot watch MNF, college football rivalry games, NBA doubleheaders, or studio shows in the blacked-out programming. ABC’s local newscasts and primetime shows are also missing from the platform, although in some markets viewers can still get access to their local ABC station for free — via an over-the-air antenna.
More broadly, the conflict illustrates how precarious the modern TV bundle can be. Research firms like Leichtman Research Group have tracked continuing losses for traditional pay-TV, with virtual multichannel services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV leading some of the new ways people are watching television. But with programming costs rising, distributors are under pressure to either accept raising rates or face channel disconnections, both of which can result in subscriber churn.
What to expect next as negotiations continue between companies
Negotiations can turn on a dime, and especially with the world of high-profile sports coming back soon to at least some parts of our televisions. If a deal lands, subscribers should expect ESPN, ABC, FX and other Disney brands to return soonish, with live guides repopulating and DVR entries reappearing as feeds come back online. If talks stretch further along, you should anticipate companies finding new ways to credit customers or offer promotions that might offset the disruption.
For now, the $20 credit is YouTube TV’s way of making up for that: an acknowledgment that the blackout also created a gap in what subscribers are getting for their money — especially at a sensitive time for people who rely on the service as an alternative to cable because it offers live sports and broadcast television. The quicker the parties wrap it up, the sooner we can get back to watching what we paid for and signed up for.