Disney warns that YouTube TV may lose its channels amid price negotations

Cease me if you happen to’ve heard this one earlier than: YouTube TV might lose a supplier’s content material as a result of a deadline is approaching with out a deal in place. This time, the media firm is Disney. It is warning (through Variety) that its networks may quickly go darkish on Google’s streaming service.

The 2 sides are negotiating forward of an October 30 midnight ET deadline. If they cannot agree by then, all Disney content material will disappear from YouTube TV. That features (amongst others) all ESPN channels, native ABC stations, ABC Information, FX, NatGeo, Disney Channel and Freeform. A YouTube spokesperson informed Selection that if that ought to occur for “an prolonged time frame,” subscribers will obtain a $20 credit score.

One facet of those battles is finger-pointing as all sides tries to leverage public notion. Disney says YouTube is making an attempt to muscle the mouse into paying beneath market worth. In the meantime, YouTube claims Disney is “proposing expensive financial phrases” that might result in even greater subscription charges. YouTube TV launched at $35 per month in 2017 and now prices a whopping $83 monthly.

If current historical past is any indication, you possibly can anticipate the dire warnings of content material elimination to proceed till they strike a deal on the final second. That already occurred a number of instances this yr.

In February, YouTube TV and Paramount had that dance. Google’s streaming community and Fox came to a renewal deal in August after repeated content-removal warnings. YouTube TV and NBCUniversal did the thing earlier this month. Nevertheless, in that case, the streaming service dropped Univision and different TelevisaUnivision networks, so tidy offers aren’t inevitable. Time will inform how this one performs out, but it surely’s laborious to think about both aspect right here eager to play rooster previous the October 30 deadline.