Top Disney Exec Trio Sees No End To YouTube TV Clash As "Sports-Packed Weekend" Approaches

As the Disney–YouTube TV carriage fight drags on, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman joined with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro to thank employees for “staying focused” during the disruption.

“Another sports-packed weekend” headlined by college football on Saturday is likely to be dark for YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers, the execs wrote in an internal memo. (Read it in full below.)

The memo thanked employees for “staying focused on maintaining such a high bar throughout this difficult situation.” Given the “swirl of information about the impasse,” it said it wanted to recap the company’s bargaining position. “Rather than compete on a level playing field, Google’s YouTube TV has approached these negotiations as if it were the only player in the game,” the executives complained.

ABC stations, ESPN, FX and other Disney networks went dark on YouTube TV on October 30 after the companies were unable to reach terms on a distribution renewal. While carriage disputes are nothing news, and Disney has had high-profile ones with DirecTV and Charter in recent years, the YouTube TV situation is unique. While carriage fees are a primary source of friction, the Big Tech DNA of YouTube and the $3 trillion valuation of its corporate parent, Google, have altered the usual dynamics. This battle is the fourth in the past three months between YouTube TV and a major programmer.

A YouTube TV spokesperson told Deadline the negotiations are continuing and the distributor remains hopeful about reaching a deal.

Here is the full memo:

Team,

We promised to keep you updated on our negotiations with Google’s YouTube TV following their decision last week to pull our channels from their service, and we are writing today with the latest. We realize this has been a challenging week, with everyone asking the same question as millions of YouTube TV subscribers during the busiest time of the year in sports: When will ESPN and ABC be back on the service? We wish we could give you that answer today, but unfortunately, we are headed into another sports-packed weekend without a deal in place.

We know you’ve seen a swirl of information about the impasse, so we wanted to share some of the facts:

We began these negotiations by offering YouTube TV a deal that would cost less overall than the terms of our recently expired license. That’s real savings that YouTube TV could pass along to its customers.

We’ve offered innovative, bespoke programming packages—tailored to sports fans, entertainment fans, kids and families—that would provide tremendous flexibility for YouTube TV and greater choice and value for its customers.

We’ve offered fair terms that are in-line with the more than 500 other distributors that have renewed their agreements since last summer, including the top distributors, who are far larger than YouTube TV.

Despite all this, YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions.

Rather than compete on a level playing field, Google’s YouTube TV has approached these negotiations as if it were the only player in the game. It goes without saying that the reason so many consumers value our programming above others is because we invest in the best talent, creators and content in the world, and we cannot allow anyone to undercut our ability to do so.

We know how difficult this situation is for the YouTube TV customers we serve, and for all of you who provide the sports programming, entertainment, news and live events that our fans know and love. Thank you for the incredible work you do each and every day and for staying focused on maintaining such a high bar throughout this difficult situation.

We will continue to work diligently to find common ground with YouTube TV and will keep you informed as we have more news to share.

With Gratitude,

Alan, Dana & Jimmy

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