Don’t expect ESPN to return to YouTube TV anytime soon.
That’s the message Disney executives delivered to employees Friday in an internal memo that makes clear the company believes Google is playing hardball in carriage negotiations. With the blackout now stretching into its second week, Disney brass are preparing staff for an extended fight.
The memo — signed by ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro alongside Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman — frames Google as unwilling to accept industry-standard terms. In the document obtained by The Athletic, executives told staff that YouTube TV “has approached these negotiations as if it were the only player in the game” rather than competing “on a level playing field.”
The crux of Disney’s complaint centers on what it views as YouTube TV seeking preferential treatment. Disney claims to have successfully negotiated renewals with hundreds of other distributors over the past several months using comparable rate structures, even with pay-TV providers that dwarf YouTube TV’s subscriber count.
The memo positions YouTube TV as demanding special treatment, claiming the Google-owned service “continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions.”
Disney also defended its pricing by pointing to content quality, noting in the memo that consumers value its programming because the company invests “in the best talent, creators and content in the world, and we cannot allow anyone to undercut our ability to do so.”
YouTube TV wasn’t having any of it.
The service pushed back hard against Disney’s characterization, calling out what it sees as the company’s standard negotiating tactics. The statement accused Disney of misrepresenting deal terms and taking credit for YouTube’s own proposals, adding that YouTube’s team “stands ready to make a fair agreement in line with their deals with other distributors.”
“Once again, Disney is resorting to their old tactics like leaking documents to the press, negotiating in public through their paid talent, and misrepresenting the facts,” a YouTube spokesperson told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
YouTube response: “Once again, Disney is resorting to their old tactics like leaking documents to the press, negotiating in public through their paid talent and misrepresenting the facts including from the deals they’ve offered and taking credit for our product proposals. Our… https://t.co/ArfTLyEeuv
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) November 7, 2025
The timing couldn’t be worse for YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers. This weekend features BYU-Texas Tech and the LSU-Alabama rivalry on Saturday, followed by Eagles-Packers on Monday night, which is arguably the best Monday Night Football matchup of the season. All of it is unavailable.
Disney is bleeding roughly $5 million in subscriber fees from YouTube TV alone, assuming ESPN’s reported $15 monthly subscriber fee. That’s over $35 million already gone since the Oct. 31 blackout started. But YouTube TV is feeling it too — The Athletic’s survey showed 60% of its subscribers are eyeing other options, and ESPN’s ratings have taken a measurable hit without that audience.
The memo’s closing struck a notably uncertain tone. Disney acknowledged that staff are fielding the same question from millions of frustrated subscribers: When will this end?
What’s the company’s answer heading into Week 11 of the college football season? They don’t know. And based on the memo’s pessimistic framing, they don’t expect to know anytime soon.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.