YouTube TV to offer $20 credit to subscribers if contract standoff with ESPN continues: Source
YouTube TV will offer a $20 credit to its subscribers if it cannot negotiate a deal with ESPN/Disney networks, a source briefed on the negotiations told The Athletic.The two sides are continuing negotiations as of Saturday, according to that source.On Oct. 30, YouTube TV subscribers lost access to all Walt Disney Company channels — including ABC and ESPN, plus the conference-specific ACC and SEC networks. Disney and Google (YouTube’s parent company) failed to reach an updated agreement on carriage, and the standoff has spilled into college football and basketball seasons.Should no agreement be reached by Sunday to return Disney and ESPN channels to YouTube TV, the streaming service will begin notifying subscribers via email that they can redeem a $20 credit toward their next statement, a source briefed on the negotiations said.All credits are scheduled to be issued by Wednesday, YouTube TV told The Athletic.If a deal between the companies is reached, the previously removed ESPN/Disney channels will be restored to the YouTube TV platform within hours, well ahead of “Monday Night Football,” one of ESPN’s most-watched properties.As the existing contract expired, the initial dispute centered around the per-subscriber fee Disney wanted to charge YouTube TV to access its content.YouTube TV is the fourth-largest television distributor in the United States, with roughly 10 million subscribers. However, if its dispute with Disney continues and ESPN programming remains unavailable for an extended period, the company could begin to see a decline in subscribers. Sports are a major draw for subscribers and viewers.
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