ESPN is still blacked out from YouTube TV as Google and Disney are locked in one of the longest major carriage disputes in recent memory. And now federal government officials are joining the chorus of frustrated voices that a deal has not yet been reached.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr, like most individuals in the Trump administration, is not afraid to use the maximum amount of political pressure possible in his position. He’s caused controversy by cavalierly threatening the broadcast license of Trump critics, most notably weighing in on the Jimmy Kimmel suspension from ABC.
While he hasn’t resorted to specific threats yet, Carr took to his social media account to send a clear message to YouTube TV parent company Google and ESPN parent company Disney.
Get a deal done.
In his message that quote-tweeted a post from YouTube TV, Carr said, “Google and Disney need to get a deal done and end this blackout. People should have the right to watch the programming they paid for — including football. Get it done!”
Google and Disney need to get a deal done and end this blackout.
People should have the right to watch the programming they paid for — including football.
Get it done! https://t.co/GxdXqhRBYd
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) November 10, 2025
The carriage dispute between Disney and Google has gone on now for two full weeks. The latest soft deadline passed on Thursday morning when Disney’s quarterly earnings call transpired without news of a deal being announced. With a third weekend of football on the horizon, it looks like YouTube TV subscribers will miss out on another week of action.
And while YouTube TV says the dispute is more about the cost of doing business to carry ABC, Carr’s tweet and the reaction from consumers makes it very clear that sports are front and center for the public in this dispute. Live sports has carried the entire cable industry for several years now and it’s sports fans who are impacted the most in missing live games, specifically the one sport that Americans care the most about – football.
YouTube TV and Disney are reportedly seeing “momentum” towards doing a deal, but until the day comes when the contracts are signed, the pressure from fans and politicians is only going to grow.
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